A KLM passenger has been arrested by police in Atlanta after causing disruption on a KLM flight as it was preparing to depart for Amsterdam. 47-year-old passenger Johannes Van Heertum claimed to have seen another passenger armed with a gun before opening an emergency exit door, triggering the aircraft’s emergency slide.

The passenger was arrested by local police before being transported to jail, with authorities citing a mental health incident. While no weapon was found onboard, KLM was forced to cancel the flight in what will prove a costly incident for the Dutch carrier.

KLM Passenger Gun Rant Before Opening Emergency Exit

The concerning incident unfolded at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) on the evening of November 25. As first reported by Fox 5, KLM Flight KL622 had left the gate and was taxiing ahead of take-off when Van Heertum was heard loudly proclaiming that another passenger had a gun. He also reportedly called 911 from inside the aircraft, telling authorities that he believed another passenger was armed.

Passengers recalled Van Heertum behaving loudly and erratically before he suddenly moved for the emergency exit door and opened it. With the emergency slides armed by the crew before takeoff, one of the slides inflated while the aircraft was still taxiing, forcing the Boeing 777 to return to the gate. Police then boarded the aircraft and took Van Heertum into custody; unfortunately, KLM had to cancel the flight and did not arrange a direct replacement, instead accommodating affected passengers on alternative flights or arrangements.

Costly Flight Cancellation

In a statement, KLM said that no firearm was found onboard the aircraft and that APD Homeland Security was notified of the incident. It also confirmed that the flight was canceled, with all passengers booked on the next available flights. Besides the high cost of canceling a long-haul flight and reaccommodating passengers, KLM will have to shell out tens of thousands of dollars to replace the deployed slide, which will have been damaged during the incident.

It typically costs between $35,000 and $75,000 to replace an emergency slide, and even the process of repacking an undamaged slide can run into the tens of thousands of dollars. This is on top of other costs, like crew scheduling and hotel costs, so the likelihood is that this incident will cost KLM $100,000 or more. It is unclear how liable the passenger will be for this bill, but airlines have pursued legal action after such incidents in the past.

Airport police stated that Van Heertum appeared to have suffered from a mental health episode, with one cabin crew member telling air traffic control (ATC) of a « psychotic passenger » that needed immediate deplaning. He was taken to Clayton County jail and charged with reckless conduct, criminal damage to property and interfering with security measures.

Boeing 777 Back In Service The Next Day

Data from Flightradar24 shows that the aircraft involved in this incident — a 21-year-old Boeing 777-200ER (registration: PH-BQI) — returned to service the next day, operating the same route to Amsterdam without a hitch. The aircraft would stay on the ground in Amsterdam for over 24 hours before completing a long-haul flight to Taipei.

At the time of publication, PH-BQI is operating its return flight from Houston to Amsterdam, with a scheduled arrival of 07:05 AM local time in the Netherlands. Looking at data from ch-aviation, the aircraft has accumulated almost 105,000 flight hours and over 12,000 flight cycles since its delivery to KLM in 2004.

The Dutch flag carrier operates a fleet of over 30 Boeing 777s, evenly split between the 777-200ER and 777-300ER variants. The airline has not yet shown any interest in ordering the Boeing 777X, and will instead take delivery of its first Airbus A350s starting from next year.