A passenger on an Alaska Airlines flight from Anchorage to Portland tried to open the emergency exit door 30 minutes before landing on Monday. He was subdued and later told police he was possibly schizophrenic and that he had been hearing voices in his head.

Alexander Michael Herrera, 23, was seated in the emergency exit row, closest to the window, when he decided to open the door. He had told a passenger sitting next to him that he was "psychic" and asked what her sign was. He asked her other strange questions, such as "What if I came to your home and pounded your kids?" and "What would you do if I open the exit door?" the complaint says.

Then he went for it.

"Let's see how this plays out," he said before he tried to open the door.

Passengers had to wrestle Herrera back into his seat where flight attendant, Tameka Lovelle, placed seat extenders and flex cuffs on him to restrain him.

"Herrera was fighting back and yelling, 'Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to hurt me?" FBI special agent Jake Green wrote in the complaint.

Herrera continued to lunge forward in his seat until the plane landed, after which he was placed in regular handcuffs and escorted off the plane.

Herrera was scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon on allegations of attempted destruction of an aircraft. The federal complaint was filed in U.S. District Court on Tuesday, according to The Oregonian.

He told police he had been hearing voices for the last four days and possibly schizophrenic. Herrera had been diagnosed as bipolar, but hadn't taken his medication for it in over a year. He also told police that he remembered getting on the plane, but didn't remember anything about the flight.

Schizophrenia is chronic, severe, and disabling brain disorder. About one percent of Americans have the disorder. People who have it sometimes hear voices, and may believe people are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or planning to harm them. Because of these symptoms, the person who has schizophrenia may become withdrawn and agitated, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. A study also found that up to 10 percent of homicide offenders may have schizophrenia, although the annual risk that someone with schizophrenia will commit a homicide is about 1 in 10,000. The study also found that the risk for someone with the disorder being convicted of some violent crime is 1 in 150.

The Association of Flight Attendants also praised the attendants and people who fought to restrain Herrera, USA Today reported.

"Flight attendants demonstrated extraordinary professionalism under pressure," said Jeffrey Peterson, Association of Flight Attendants president at Alaska Airlines. "We commend our Alaska Airlines colleagues for their swift response and skilled management of the situation. And, we thank the passengers who immediately responded to the threat and followed crewmember instruction."

Source: Mullen P. Schizophrenia and violence: from correlations to preventive strategies. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment. 2006.