He Tried to Open the Door at 30,000 Feet. A Jiu-Jitsu Fighter Stopped Him.

The Door Was Locked. He Tried Anyway.

About 45 minutes into Frontier Airlines Flight 3345 from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Chicago, a passenger stood up and walked to the emergency exit door and tried to force it open.

When crew members stopped him, he moved toward the cockpit and began shoving his shoulder against the pilot’s door, according to a federal arrest affidavit filed by the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office. He then attacked a fellow passenger before other travelers physically restrained him. The flight was diverted to Miami International Airport, where law enforcement boarded the plane and took him into custody.

That passenger was Juan Gabriel Reyes, 51, of Chicago - and on June 9, a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida indicted him on one count of interference with flight crew members and attendants, a felony that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

‘He Just Wanted to Get Off the Plane’

Reyes had become disruptive early in the flight on May 31, 2026, repeatedly telling crew he wanted to disembark and failing to follow instructions to remain seated, court documents say. After the emergency exit attempt and the cockpit approach, he attacked a 33-year-old off-duty flight attendant who was seated in a nearby row.

The off-duty attendant was traveling as a regular passenger. He was the first person to physically intervene - but he was not the one who ultimately subdued Reyes.

That credit belongs to Josh Longood, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter who happened to be on the same flight. ‘I just grabbed him, restrained him as safely as possible, kind of just really put him in his row, and laid him down,’ Longood said in an account reported by ABC7 Chicago. He held Reyes until crew and other passengers could assist.

Diverted to Miami

The Frontier flight landed safely at Miami International Airport at approximately 11:55 p.m. local time. Law enforcement officers were waiting at the gate. Reyes was arrested without further incident.

He faces one federal count of interference with flight crew members and attendants under 49 U.S.C. - the charge that carries the 20-year maximum - and an additional count of assault within maritime and territorial jurisdiction, which carries up to one year. As of the filing of the indictment, it was unclear whether Reyes had entered a plea. His attorney had not responded to media requests for comment.

The U.S. Department of Justice Southern District of Florida confirmed the charges in a press release. Frontier Airlines issued a statement calling the incident unacceptable and affirming the airline’s full cooperation with law enforcement.

Federal Charges on the Rise

The FBI’s crimes-aboard-aircraft unit has seen an increase in prosecuted cases over the past several years, with federal prosecutors and airlines taking a more aggressive approach to in-flight disruptions than in earlier periods. The Reyes case is among the most serious recent examples - involving both an emergency exit attempt and a cockpit door approach on the same flight.

A DePaul University transportation professor quoted in ABC7 Chicago’s coverage of the incident described the shift in enforcement posture: what was once handled through de-escalation is increasingly being referred for criminal charges.

Reyes is expected to appear in federal court in the Southern District of Florida. No trial date had been set as of Tuesday.

References: Frontier passengers tackle man who allegedly choked off-duty flight attendant, tried to open door mid-flight | Passenger Charged After Allegedly Attempting to Open Aircraft Doors Mid-Flight and Assaulting Traveler | Frontier Airlines Chicago flight diversion: Man chokes off-duty attendant, tries to breach cockpit