Michael Rapaport helped stop what could have been an in-flight disaster on Saturday when he stopped a man from opening the emergency exit door on an airplane traveling to Los Angeles.
Rapaport was traveling back to LA after Week 1 of the BIG 3 in Houston on an American Airlines flight when a man became confused and tried to open the exit door in the passenger cabin.
Rapaport, an actor who does sideline reporting for Fox Sports’ BIG3 coverage, apparently led the charge against the passenger who was confused about where the bathroom is. Ted Kenny, who works at Fox and was also on the flight, explained what happened through a series of tweets.
Crazy. On plane to LA from Houston. I am 11 rows back and I hear Michael Rapport yell "Hey" but not in a normal way and very loud. Michael is sitting in the 1st row on the right.
— Ted Kenney (@TedKenney3D) June 23, 2018
I see Michael shoot up out of his seat and rush to the area just between the bulkhead and the bathroom and yell "what the f%&* are you doing?" Mike continues yelling so I jump up and rush up to to Michael as does some Big 3 players.
— Ted Kenney (@TedKenney3D) June 23, 2018
I get to the bulkhead and Michael has this guy by the collar and manhandling him away from the emergency exit door. Michael tells us he was trying to open the door. Crew and staff where all in the back of the plane so nobody was looking out for our safety except Mr. New York.
— Ted Kenney (@TedKenney3D) June 23, 2018
All calm now and crew has been talking for a while to this guy. Glad to be around multiple people who would get involved so quickly. Especially Michael.
— Ted Kenney (@TedKenney3D) June 23, 2018
Kenny said the man thought he was going into the bathroom, though he was skeptical about that. He also noted that other BIG3 players and staff got involved to restrain the man until officials could get the situation under control.
The Atypical star later posted a few videos about the incident, as the flight continued on to Los Angeles where security was waiting.
Shit was real back to @flyLAXairport @thebig3 Airlines @BaronDavis
Big Baby Davis thinks he’s the next @TheRock pic.twitter.com/DGtIQXGbG3— MichaelRapaport (@MichaelRapaport) June 23, 2018
Rapaport spent the evening fielding compliments about his heroic actions, then did what anyone would do in his situation: record an “emergency” podcast about the incident. TMZ reported that the man who tried to open the door was interviewed by airport employees and the FBI and it was deemed it really was an accident. The passenger then took a flight from Los Angeles to Vietnam to visit his ill mother.
