FL Couple Use Emergency Slide To Exit Plane With Dog, Arrested

NEW YORK — A Florida couple that was scheduled to travel Monday from New York to Atlanta along with their Great Dane forced an hourslong delay instead after they broke through the cabin door of a Delta aircraft and slid down the inflatable slide as the plane began taxiing toward the runaway, authorities said.

Antonio Murdock, 31, and Brianna Greco, 23, were arrested following the incident at LaGuardia Airport, according to multiple reports. A passenger on Delta flight 462 told The New York Times that Murdock and Greco had moved from one seat to another before Murdock told a flight attendant that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and would "freak out" if he sat down, the newspaper reported.

Refusing to sit, Murdock instead moved toward the front of the plane and forced open a cabin door on the aircraft, authorities said. When the door opened, an inflatable slide was activated and Murdock, Greco and their dog then slid down, authorities said.

According to reports, the plane was forced to return to the gate, where other passengers were re-routed.

A spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey told The Times that Murdock faced charges of criminal mischief and reckless endangerment, and Greco faced charges of criminal trespass.

Murdock was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday. Greco — who is listed on voting records as being from Lake Worth, Florida, in Palm Beach County — had been released from custody Monday night, according to reports. Murdock appeared in photos wearing a Palm Beach sweatshirt on his way to his court appearance on Tuesday.

Authorities said that the dog, which was listed in multiple reports as a service dog, was turned over to a local animal shelter.