Another mainland airline passenger opens emergency exit ‘for some fresh air’
Bulldozer driver making first flight thought cabin door lever was the window handle
Yet another passenger in southern China has been detained for forcing open an aircraft emergency exit in hope of getting some fresh air before take-off, casting another black mark on the reputation of misbehaving mainland tourists, local media report.
The 30-year-old bulldozer driver, who had never travelled by air before, decided to break open the Hainan Airlines aircraft’s emergency exit despite warnings from the cabin crew, in an attempt to let in some fresh air to avoid air sickness, according to the Metropolis Express newspaper in Nanjing.
The flight bound from Shenzhen, next to Hong Kong, to Shenyang, the capital of northeastern Liaoning province, was delayed for almost an hour as the troublesome passenger was removed from the plane and arrested.
I thought the handle was used to open the window so it would be fine
The man, identified only by his surname Hu, was placed under a week’s detention and slapped with a 500 yuan (HK$600) fine for disrupting a civilian flight.
A flight attendant surnamed Li told the newspaper that she felt the wind on her face while making preparations for take-off at around 10pm, after most passengers had boarded the Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
“I looked back, and saw a dozen of people standing near the exit of the plane, and when I got close I was shocked to see the door was fully open,” said Li, who raised the alarm with the captain.
Hu, who appeared shameful, admitted to the crew that it was he who opened the door.
“The man at first exchanged his seat with another passenger beside the window, and then started playing around the emergency exit lever,” Li said.
Having noticed Hu’s behaviour, Li told him to stop touching the handle.
But that did not deter Hu, who mistook the emergency exit level for a window handle and tried to yank the door open to get some fresh air.
I thought I would get airsick as that was it my first time flying, so I moved to sit beside the window
“I thought I would get airsick as it was my first time flying, so I moved to sit beside the window,” Hu explained. “I thought the handle was used to open the window so it would be fine.”
An investigation showed that Hu, a bulldozer driver from eastern Zhejiang province, had dropped out of school in Grade Three.
Hu’s cousin, who was also on the plane, told police that Hu was always curious about new things and that he regretted having failed to stop him because he was sitting too far away from him at the time.
It is the latest in a series of dangerous incidents to have shocked the country’s civil aviation industry, which in February imposed a slew of new penalties, including flying bans in addition to existing fines, on blacklisted Chinese tourists.
