Airline passenger opens emergency exit for fresh air, fined $15,000

Beijing : A man was detained for 15 days and was fined with $15,000 for allegedly opening an emergency exit of a just landed Air China plane to get some fresh air.

Chen, 25, arrived in Sichuan, China, from the island province of Hainan, and was preparing to deplane with his fellow passengers when he began feeling uncomfortable, ending up opening the emergency exit of the plane, said media reports.

Chen did not pull the emergency exit handle intentionally but actually “panicked” when it fell inward. The plane’s emergency exit also deployed automatically as a result.

“Because it was so stuffy, so hot on the plane, I just pushed down on the window handle beside me. When the door fell out, I panicked,” Chen told the ThePaper.cn, as translated by the Post.

However, the airlines' officials were not convinced with his explanation. According to the airlines, all passengers were made aware of the location of emergency exit during the pre-flight safety demonstration. And the door cannot fall unless some internal force is applied on it even after pushing the lever.

As a result, Chen was reportedly detained for 15 days “for the unauthorised removal of aviation facilities” and will be subject to a fine of 70,000 yuan, or around $14,700, according to the South China Morning Post.