Man Tries To Open Airplane Door At 30,000 Feet, Says He Thought It Was The Bathroom

There aren’t many doors to choose from on an airplane, so if you don’t want to find yourself suddenly flying solo*, you better be darn sure you’re picking the right one. Easier said than done for one man who says he mistook the exit door for the bathroom on a recent flight.

The Telegraph reports the story of a man who says he was arrested and fined €600 for the incident on a KLM Airlines flight from Edinburgh to Amsterdam. He says he was also told he’s been banned from flying on the airline for five years.

According to his side of the story, staff accused him of trying to open the jet door at 30,000 feet, which would be impossible to accomplish due to cabin pressure. He claims it was just his attempt to get to the lavatory.

When it was time to fly home, he says KLM staff refused him boarding and informed him that he was banned.

“The crew told me to stay in my seat and I was to be arrested when the plane landed,” he told the Telegraph. “I tried to explain it was a simple mistake. It was a misunderstanding. The police came and arrested me. They weren’t too friendly. They weren’t too friendly.”

He isn’t sure if he’ll face any further action, but insists he’d never try to open an exit door on purpose.

“I realize the danger of that sort of thing,” he added.

KLM told The Telegraph that a passenger had been handed over to authorities due to “his misbehavior” onboard.

*Again yes, we realize this is not possible due to physics.

Passenger who tried to open plane door at 30,000ft ‘thought it was a toilet’ [The Telegraph]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist