Patna – a first-time flyer sparked a mid-air scare when he tried to open the emergency exit, mistaking it for the toilet door.
The passenger, identified as Abhijit Kumar, boarded the GoAir flight at Delhi airport and was travelling to Patna on Saturday night when he wanted to use the toilet.
Other passengers raised the alarm when they witnessed him, and crew members instantly rushed to pull him aside.
Airport officials said the gate of an exit door of an airborne plane cannot be opened due to cabin pressure yet it was a dangerous attempt in midair.
The plane landed in the Jayaprakash Narayan International airport in Patna and the passenger was taken into custody.
“I mistook the word lavatory written near the exit gate as the door of the toilet and hence tried to open it. I had no other intention as such,” the youth told the police.
He was released on Saturday.
“We have verified his statements. He works in a prominent bank and had boarded the GoAir flight travelling from New Delhi to Patna. It’s also true that he is a first-time flyer. What happened inside the plane was due to confusion,” a senior police official Mohammad Sanowar Khan told the local media on Monday.