On Friday, Thai police filed charges against a Canadian man who tried to open an emergency exit on a plane before it took off on a flight from Chiang Mai in northern Thailand to the capital, Bangkok, last Wednesday, causing several delays.
Natawot Nuasorn, a Chiang Mai police official, said the man faces “two charges related to harm caused to other passengers and failure to comply with aircraft rules.”
The arrested man, 40 years old, tried to open an emergency exit inside a plane belonging to the national Thai Airlines company, when it was parked on the runway before take-off.
“He told us that he opened the door because someone on the plane was trying to kill him,” Nuasorn said. “He was very terrified.”
The police are investigating whether the accused was under the influence of drugs, or whether he was suffering from psychological disorders.
The accident caused more than a dozen plane delays in Chiang Mai, the tourist capital of northern Thailand, according to police.
One witness spoke of “chaotic” scenes on board the plane during the incident.
“I was sitting at the back of the plane, and I heard strong winds and screaming from the front of the plane. It was chaotic,” Wattarapon-Pithsorp said.
“He was screaming that a man dressed in black was trying to kill him,” he added.
The flight was finally able to depart after midnight, with a delay of more than three hours, without any injuries reported, according to a Thai Airways statement.
Last May, in South Korea, a man opened the emergency exit on a plane as it was landing, saying he wanted to get out of the plane “quickly.” He faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
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