Chinese passenger who opened plane's emergency exit "by mistake" to pay $7.6k
The domestic flight from Tibet had just landed at Chongqing, southwest China.
But while the plane was still taxiing on the runway, a man opened the emergency exit.
The China West Airlines passenger said he misunderstood a crew member’s instructions and “mistakenly” opened the door, China Central Television (CCTV) reported.
The incident happened about 6:30pm on Monday (Jan 12) - shortly after flight PN6272 from Lhasa landed at Jiangbei International Airport in Chongqing, Chongqing Evening News reported on Wednesday (Jan 14).
As air crew were preparing for debarkation, the middle-aged man opened the emergency exit over the port wing, the airline said.
Cold air blew into the plane and an inflatable escape slide was automatically deployed.
Compensate airline
Police were called and the man was taken away for questioning.
After agreeing to compensate the airline and pay damages of 35,000 yuan (S$7,557), he was released with only a reprimand, the CCTV said.
The incident is the latest in a spate of cases involving Chinese passengers behaving badly on aircraft.
On Saturday (Jan 10), two men were given 15-day detentions after opening three emergency exits on a China Eastern Airlines flight that was preparing to take off from an airport in Kunming, capital of Yunnan province.
Source: Shanghai Daily, Chongqing Evening News, weibo
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