There are a couple of interesting stories over the past couple of days from planes in China that had the emergency exits opened. As uncivilized as the US aviation industry seems sometimes, it’s easy to take for granted that at least most people have flown before. Some frequent flyers are annoyed by once yearly flyers not knowing the drill. But people flying for the first time in their lives are a totally different story, as you can see below…
Passenger just wanted fresh air
Via the South China Morning Post, a passenger on a Xiamen Air flight from Hangzhou to Chengdu on Sunday opened the emergency exit door just before takeoff. Apparently he just wanted to “get some fresh air.” It was his first time flying, so you can’t really hold it against him too much. Amazingly the flight wasn’t delayed, despite that having happened.
Fortunately the airline isn’t penalizing the passenger, which I appreciate, given that no harm was intended. And thank goodness it was an overwing exit and not an exit with a slide, which would have been a much more complicated (and expensive) repair.
At the same time, even if you’ve never flown before, what exactly is the thought process that goes through your head when you try to open a door before takeoff? Beyond me…
Passenger wanted to get off faster
Via ABC, a passenger arriving at the Sanya Phoenix International Airport in Hainan on Monday decided to deploy the emergency upon arriving at the gate.
Why, you ask? Because he wanted to get off the plane faster, and didn’t realize the emergency exit was for emergencies only. He also admitted he didn’t pay attention to the safety demo (not that the safety demo explicitly says that you shouldn’t use the emergency exit to get off the plane faster, so I’m not sure it would have helped).
Since the slide deployed, that’s a costly repair for the airline.
Here’s a video of the incident:
Bottom line
The emergency exit is for emergencies only. That is all.
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