Thai Airways Passenger Try To Open Emergency Door

[george]

Police let drunk passenger walk free

PERTH: Australian Federal Police allowed a drunken plane passenger who tried to rip open an emergency door on a flight from Bangkok to Perth at the weekend to stagger through Customs and head for the airport bar to drink more beer.

An AFP spokeswoman admitted last night police had been told to look out for an intoxicated man who had created a disturbance on the flight.

Officers monitored his movements through Customs but took no other action as Thai Airways International had indicated it did not want to take the matter further. The man, who was tackled to the plane floor by an off-duty policeman and two other passengers, was later seen alone drinking from a can of beer at a Perth International Airport bar.

The off-duty policeman, Morawa Const. Chris Jones, said he was disappointed no further police action was taken. During the flight the man also swore at and abused several female passengers.

Const. Jones, who was on his way home from a 10-day honeymoon in Phuket, described the man's actions as outrageous.

He said he could see terror in the eyes of other passengers. "He was like a man possessed and it's taken a while for what actually happened to sink in," Const. Jones said. "I don't think he really knew how to open the door, but he was having a fair crack at it."

The AFP spokeswoman said police would continue to gather information on the incident and mount a full investigation if issues of criminality were established.

A Westralia Airport Corporation spokeswoman said airport management was not notified of the incident before the flight landed.

Airport management had also not been told of any unruly behaviour by the man after arrival.

Thai Airways International WA sales manager Debra Matthews said the flight crew had been interviewed by management yesterday.

She confirmed the crew also submitted a written report but had not sent a message ahead to the airport or authorities to warn them of the man's behaviour.

Mrs Matthews would not comment on whether or not the man would be banned from flying with the airline while the investigation was pending.

She also confirmed the man was given and signed a written warning from the captain during the flight that he would be charged upon landing if he did not improve his behaviour.

Const. Jones said he and another off-duty WA policeman on the flight sat alongside the unruly passenger and stopped him drinking more alcohol.

He said the man continued to shout occasional abuse and had several mood swings.

Const. James had assumed, because of the serious nature of the incident, the flight crew would have notified authorities in Perth.

--thewest.com.au 2004-05-11

[taxexile]

its a common feeling when flying thai airways. halfway through the flight you just cant stand it any more and you wish you could get off.

[Kringle]

taxexile, Now that's what I call an avitar, real beauty. Just wish it were my hands doing the rub.

[Basher]

This just sounds like normal Aussie behaviour when pissed....

Hang on I do remember the Gent was on a flight over there recently, maybe he was just testing the security level aboard..... or the above applys to him too?

I can just see the standard Thai reaction to road accidents would apply here too, non reactive spectators blah blah blah

If I was there I would have him in an SAS death grip in seconds!

Bash

(Who flys a lot)

[bmw]

(Who flys a lot)

A E R O F L O T

[tuky]

(Who flys a lot)

A E R O F L O T

Of course, now I understand.

Bash your post makes more sense now

[dr_Pat_Pong]

(Who flys a lot)

A E R O F L O T

Of course, now I understand.

Bash your post makes more sense now

It is the Vodka that does it Leith

[Pink Mist]

This just sounds like normal Aussie behaviour when pissed....

Hang on I do remember the Gent was on a flight over there recently, maybe he was just testing the security level aboard..... or the above applys to him too?

I can just see the standard Thai reaction to road accidents would apply here too, non reactive spectators blah blah blah

If I was there I would have him in an SAS death grip in seconds!

Bash

(Who flys a lot)

Just an update on the incedent, it seems the guy is an english tourist and wasn't drunk just ate to much marsh!t.

[brownsugar]

I dont understand how this guy got away with it. If he got the door open , he would have put everyone life in danger.mmmmm not good The way it seems Thai airways are trying to cover this up by not taking action

[splitlid]

door on aeroplanes cannot be opened when flying.

its a pressure thing...

but at least he tried

[taxexile]

the air pressure outside is less than the air pressure inside the plane so surely it is the safety measures built into the locking system that prevent accidental opening rather than the pressure difference. ??????

[sonthaya]

Tax, you are so right, I as an former airline pilot can confirm, it's not possible to open a door or emergency exit during flight all doors and exits are "plug in" they have to be opened into the aircraft at first, and that's not possible with the pressure difference.

[snowleopard]

PERTH: Australian Federal Police allowed a drunken plane passenger who tried to rip open an emergency door on a flight from Bangkok to Perth at the weekend to stagger through Customs and head for the airport bar to drink more beer.

Aussies are so tolerant when you have a valid excuse!

Like drinking some more ale!

Const. Jones said he and another off-duty WA policeman on the flight sat alongside the unruly passenger and stopped him drinking more alcohol.

That means Thai Airways continued serving him more alcohol after the incident!

Now!That's what I call service! Party on dude!Chai-o,Chai-o!

Tax, you are so right, I as an former airline pilot can confirm, it's not possible to open a door or emergency exit during flight all doors and exits are "plug in" they have to be opened into the aircraft at first, and that's not possible with the pressure difference

I think they made emergency doors impossible to open in-flight after the D.B.Cooper heist back in November of 1971!

Dan Cooper skyjacked a Northwest Orient Boeing 727-051 flight from Portland to Seattle,got U.S.$200 000 in ransom money and then parachuted out through the rear exit which had a staircase that could be lowered.He has never been seen or heard of again!

He wisely ordered the plane down to ten thousand feet before he jumped!

At a higher altitude everone onboard would probably have died!

Snowleopard

[maerim]

He has never been seen or heard of again!

Depending on his weight,the size of the parachute and the thermals in the area he could well be still up there.

[george]

Man charged over flight fracas

A 40-year-old man has been charged with endangering the safety of an aircraft after a passenger tried to open a plane door during a Perth-bound international flight last weekend.

Australian Federal Police (AFP) also charged the man with offensive and disorderly behaviour under civil aviation regulations.

The AFP today said the man, from the southern Perth suburb of Rockingham, was interviewed and charged yesterday.

"An investigation was triggered on Monday when serious allegations were outlined in media reports," the AFP said in a statement.

"During the week, federal agents interviewed a number of witnesses including airline staff and passengers.

"Federal agents will allege the man was intoxicated and attempted to open an exit door of the aircraft during a flight from Thailand to Perth on Saturday, May 8."

A spokesman for the Federal Police said the crew issued the man with a passenger notice during the flight from Bangkok.

The notice was essentially a captain's caution warning the passenger his behaviour was unsatisfactory and would not be tolerated, he said.

The spokesman said the man was not handcuffed or restrained during the rest of the flight but two off-duty police officers were there and ready to help cabin crew if needed.

The man was granted bail and and ordered to appear in the Perth Court of Petty Sessions on May 20.

--The Sunday Mail, AU 2004-05-16

[george]

Air rager gets $3000 fine

PERTH: -- A West Australian man has been fined $3000 after admitting he swore at and intimidated fellow passengers during a flight from Bangkok to Perth.

Forty-year-old Stuart Todd Fontaine, of Rockingham, was charged by Australian Federal Police after the in-flight incident on May 7-8 this year.

In Perth Court of Petty Sessions today, Fontaine pleaded guilty to one count of behaving in an offensive and disorderly manner.

The court heard Fontaine was last to board the Thai Airways plane, and despite appearing intoxicated, continued to drink throughout the flight.

He swore at an elderly woman who attempted to intervene when he began harassing a young Korean passenger, and was eventually restrained by an off-duty police officer.

Fontaine's lawyer, Malcolm Ayoub, told the court his "softly spoken" client, who was fluent in Thai, had only consumed one can of beer prior to the flight, and then one can during the flight, along with 120ml of whiskey.

He said a mixture of "alcohol, anxiety and high altitude" was behind his client's behaviour and that he was very remorseful.

Mr Ayoub described Fontaine as a well-educated, well-travelled professional who had a de facto wife in Thailand.

Magistrate David Jones said had the offence been committed on the street it would likely have attracted a fine of about $300, but the seriousness of the incident was compounded by the fact it was committed mid-air.

"This is really serious stuff. It caused obvious distress and alarm," the magistrate said.

"The sentence has got to be a real deterrent to his sort of behaviour."

Fontaine, who had faced a maximum fine of $5500, was also ordered to pay costs of $188.

A second charge against Fontaine was today withdrawn by prosecutors.

-- news.com.au

[Rinrada]

"de facto wife in Thailand"

I blame it all on his "de facto"wife in Thailand....yea absolutely.....

erm.........whits a de facto wife anyway and where do you get them?

crazy duckhead

[Axel]

Fontaine's lawyer, Malcolm Ayoub, told the court ....(client) had only consumed one can of beer prior to the flight, and then one can during the flight, along with 120ml of whiskey.

Now this I cannot believe, can never be an Australian.

Wether or not the door can be opened inflight, should be replied by Daveyo, who knows all the secret details of airplanes.

[SeaVisionBurma]

The court heard Fontaine was last to board the Thai Airways plane, and despite appearing intoxicated, continued to drink throughout the flight.

Fontaine's lawyer, Malcolm Ayoub, told the court his "softly spoken" client, who was fluent in Thai, had only consumed one can of beer prior to the flight, and then one can during the flight, along with 120ml of whiskey.

Softly spoken my ar$e - and who do they think they're trying to fool when they say he only had 2 quiet ales and a poofteenth of whisky. Safe bet he wasn't last to board the plane because he was busy buying cultural souvenirs from the Kingdom for gifts back home.

These drunken air rage ###### really pi$$ me off - as eventually they will make it harder for decent, well behaved drunks like the rest of us to quietly enjoy the free booze on the flight. Jokes aside - trying to open the door of the aircraft inflight is a considerably more serious act than ringing the bus bell or pulling the train communication cord. It's a long way down from 38,000 feet. Lucky they're impossible to open.

I would have fined him the full $5500. Hope they blacklist him from the skies. This loser is no better than the other idiot who walked out of an airport in Indonesia this week - also another drunken <deleted> from Perth. Does anyone know if they caught up with him?

(what is it about us Perthites lately ??)

[george]

Off topic: Is it really possible to open an emergency door when a plane is flying at 38,000 foot?

[john b good]

Yes it does seem that these ###### from Oz are a bit of an embarressment aren't they.

But with the lack of any real in flight entertainment ya gotta do something."

[SeaVisionBurma]

Off topic: Is it really possible to open an emergency door when a plane is flying at 38,000 foot?

Technically it is possible, but the pressure difference would work against any physical effort required to swing the door inwards.

On all modern airliners they use a plug type door which first swings in when opening, then out. As the cabin is pressurized, it keeps the door firmly sealed against the fuselage.

Some boffins had a debate on it here:

Gassing Station Forum - possible to open an aircraft door?

[Highwayman]

If it had been on a plane bound for America you can have been sure he would have got a more appropriate reception on landing.

With Thai, l've noticed on a few flights that if something out of the ordinary happens that the cabin staff are very reluctant to assert themselves, that it's left to the passengers to sort things out.

[350torana]

I think the recent events with terroists on airlines brings any incident on a plane into the papers.

No excuse for getting shiitfaced and going troppo on a flight . Losing control on transport in the air is much more serious than some drunk on the back seat of a bus being a ###### .

I guess the problem lies with serving of booze on flights, don't ban it, just stop serving to those who have obviously had enough . Or enrol stewards, stewardesses in some kinda hand to hand combat course.

[sonthaya]

its a common feeling when flying thai airways. halfway through the flight you just cant stand it any more and you wish you could get off.

I would never fly any other airlinine, and I'm an ex airline pilot.

[meemiathai]

If people can't drink and control themselves at the same time, just

DON'T BLOODY DRINK!

[Begs]

If it had been on a plane bound for America you can have been sure he would have got a more appropriate reception on landing.

With Thai, l've noticed on a few flights that if something out of the ordinary happens that the cabin staff are very reluctant to assert themselves, that it's left to the passengers to sort things out.

In UK he would have been Jailed.

[daveh]

Technically it is possible, but the pressure difference would work against any physical effort required to swing the door inwards.

On all modern airliners they use a plug type door which first swings in when opening, then out. As the cabin is pressurized, it keeps the door firmly sealed against the fuselage.

Some boffins had a debate on it here:

Gassing Station Forum - possible to open an aircraft door?

I always thought the same thing. Then just this past Thursday, I was on a China Airlines 747 flight from Taipei to San Francisco sitting upstairs at the emergency exit where I noticed a big sign on the door. "Do not open door while in flight." It was written in Chinese and English along with a pictogram that was completely useless. I wanted to take a picture of it, but I forgot about it after I woke up.

If the doors are relying on pressure to keep them closed if someone opens the latch, then they should be able to be opened at low altitudes. I hope there is some kind of alarm in the cockpit to notify the captain that the handle has been moved. Otherwise, some kid playing around at the galley may open it and forget about it only to have the door open during landing when the pressure equalizes. I have a feeling an emergency evacuation slide popping out during landing would make the pilot's life difficult.

[meemiathai]

I think the doors are locked during the flight.