A citizen of Canada was apprehended in Chiang Mai, Thailand, subsequent to his act of opening the entryway of a Thai Airways aircraft that was preparing for departure from Chiang Mai airport en route to Bangkok, according to local broadcaster ThaiPBS and officials.
Ananya Tiangtae, a user of Facebook who was aboard the plane, recounted, “There was pandemonium throughout the entire plane,” additionally noting that authorities escorted the passenger off the plane.
Ananya further pondered, “What if we were 30,000 feet above sea level? What would be the outcome?”
Regarding the occurrence on Thursday (Feb 8), Ronnakorn Chalermsaenyakorn, the director of Chiang Mai Airport, articulated that a passenger had triggered the opening of the emergency door, causing the inflatable slide to deploy, thereby thwarting the aircraft’s departure.
Ronnakorn elucidated that the aircraft was returned to the terminal, and passengers disembarked following safety inspections conducted by technicians.
He noted that the disruption resulted in more than a dozen other flights being affected at the airport.
Thai Airways confirmed that the aircraft was cleared for departure once all crew members and passengers were deemed safe following the inspection.
Subsequently, the passenger was observed under custody at a local police station, as reported by local television station ThaiPBS, which identified the male tourist as Canadian.
“The passenger acknowledged his action of opening the door, citing that people were pursuing him… judging from his conduct, it is probable that he was experiencing hallucinations,” stated the passenger’s attorney, Jirawat Yarnkiatpakdee, in conversation with ThaiPBS.
Thirteen flights were impacted by the incident, with the air traffic control tower notified at 10:05 pm local time when Thai Airways flight TG121 was queuing on the runway.
The statement indicated that the Airbus A320 was temporarily immobilized, impeding the arrival and departure of other flights.
Post Your Comments