CHENNAI: Minutes before take-off, the pilot of a passenger flight to Mumbai had to abort it after a man on board tried to open the emergency door while the aircraft was taxiing on the Chennai airport runway on Thursday night.
The passenger was deplaned and handed over to local police while the flight left after a delay of around two hours.
The Indigo Airlines flight to Mumbai was scheduled to depart from Chennai with 152 passengers on Thursday night. When the flight started to move on the runway, the emergency exit alarm was raised, forcing the pilot to immediately stop the flight on the runway.
During the takeoff of an IndiGo Airlines flight from Chennai to Mumbai, a 45-year-old passenger attempted to open the emergency door, causing the pilot to make a stoppage on the runway.
When they investigated, the cabin crew found that a passenger, Varun Barath (45) of Mumbai, had tried to open the exit. During questioning, he repeatedly claimed that he pressed the button by mistake without being aware that it was to open the emergency exit.
The crew members alerted the security officers at the airport, who detained the passenger from the aircraft, deplaned him, and handed him over to the Chennai Airport police station.
Following the incident, the flight was delayed by two hours and departed with the remaining 151 passengers at 12.30 am on Friday.