Couple with pet puppy flee passenger plane on emergency slide before take-off

A flight in the US was halted after a couple travelling with a puppy fled the aircraft with the pet using an emergency slide, an airline spokesman and authorities have said.

The incident involving Antonio Murdock and Brianna Greco, from Florida, occurred on Monday as the plane was leaving for a flight from Laguardia Airport in New York to Atlanta, said Delta spokesman Morgan Durrant.

Witnesses reported seeing a panicky Murdock force open the front cabin door and jump out using the emergency chute leading to the runway. He was quickly followed by Greco with the Great Dane puppy in tow.

Murdock (31) and Greco (27) were taken into custody on charges including criminal mischief and trespassing, among others.

Authorities said Murdock was awaiting arraignment, while Greco was released on a desk appearance ticket.

The dog was turned over to an animal shelter.

Passenger Brian Plummer told The New York Times that before they exited the plane, the pair had changed seats several times on a flight that was not full. The man finally stood up and ignored a flight attendant’s order to take a seat for take-off, telling the attendant that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, Mr Plummer added.

“If I sit down, I’ll freak out,” the man said, according to Mr Plummer.

The aircraft was forced to return to the gate where the remaining customers got off and were later put on other flights.

The incident recalled the 2010 case of Steven Slater, a Jetblue flight attendant who activated a chute during a tantrum on a plane landing at Kennedy Airport.