First-Time Flier Causes Panic After He Opens Emergency Exit By Mistake Thinking It Was A Normal Window

A GoAir flight with 171 people aboard experienced some tense moments at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on Thursday morning after a first-time flier mistook the left emergency exit for a regular plane window and opened it with some effort.

The Bengaluru-Lucknow flight was taxiing at that moment. The pilot immediately stopped the aircraft, and no one was hurt in the bizarre episode. The aircraft was grounded.

The passenger, Sunil Kumar, who was seated in the emergency exit row, was off-loaded and taken to the Airport police station, where cops registered a case but later freed him with a warning. Kumar works as a carpenter in Bengaluru and was travelling to his hometown, Lucknow.

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Other passengers were accommodated in a different flight, which took off from KIA at 10.14am, nearly two hours after the scheduled departure of the affected Bengaluru-Lucknow plane.

A GoAir spokesperson said after Kumar took his seat in the emergency exit row on Thursday morning, he was given a complete briefing about the emergency procedures in Hindi twice. Kumar had told the crew that he would be more comfortable conversing in Hindi than English.

¡°Despite the briefing, Kumar opened the emergency exit window immediately after the flight pushback. The incident occurred near the taxi out point at 8.12am. This caused commotion, and the pilot immediately halted the aircraft,¡± the spokesperson said.

A passenger who was seated in 13-D, near Kumar, recounted the incident in a written statement. ¡°I saw him touching the gate [door] and by the time I reacted, he had pulled the lever and the gate was open when the flight was taxiing,¡± he said.

The GoAir spokesperson said Kumar was ¡°curious¡± even though the crew had clearly instructed him that the lever should not be used unless there was an emergency.

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¡°He was flying for the first time and he mistook the emergency door for a window and opened it. He said he had heard during the pre-departure announcement that windows should be opened when the flight takes off,¡± an officer with Airport police said. Flight attendants always advise passengers to open the window shades so they can assess outside conditions.

The police officer added that a thorough check of Kumar¡¯s background in Lucknow and Bengaluru didn¡¯t reveal anything problematic.

Kumar tendered an unconditional apology to fellow passengers and the airline. ¡°Passengers should refrain from such adventures while travelling considering that such act can jeopardise the safety of fellow passengers and also delay the flight,¡± GoAir said in a statement.

KIA advisory for passengers

On Thursday, KIA issued an advisory warning passengers of additional wait times and delays at the airport due to a security alert. ¡°The high security alert at the #BLRAirport might mean some additional wait time, queues and delays. We are working hard to ensure your safety. Do plan your travel accordingly. Apologies for the inconvenience caused,¡± it said.

According to airport officials, it has ¡°continued to be on high security alert based on a pan-India notice issued by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security in March 2019¡±.