Is opening emergency door in aircraft a crime? Tejasvi Surya's latest controversy explained
First there was a mid-air brawl, then came the news of Pee-gate and now there’s exit-gate. Indian flyers are becoming more difficult to handle, it seems, in recent times.
On 17 January, IndiGo Airlines released a statement that a passenger had “accidentally opened the emergency exit during the boarding process” aboard a flight from Chennai to Tiruchirapalli on 10 December 2022. However, the airline did not mention the passenger’s name. The unnamed passenger’s action caused the flight to be delayed by over two hours and only took off for its destination, Tiruchirapalli, after stringent engineering checks.
The passenger’s name has now come to the fore and it was none other than Tejasvi Surya, national president of the BJP Yuva Morcha and the party’s Bengaluru South MP. Surya’s name has been confirmed by Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who said: “It is important to look at the facts. The door was opened by him by mistake when the flight was on the ground and after all checks, the flight was allowed to take off. He also apologised for the mistake.”
Scindia added, “When the incident happened Tejasvi Surya himself reported it to the pilot and crew. Full protocol was followed as DGCA has investigated. Only after all checks the aircraft took off. He (Surya) himself apologised for delay caused due to the incident.”
The incident has become fodder for the Opposition to attack the BJP, accusing the government of flouting rules. As the political pow-wow rages on, let’s take a closer look at the incident in question and also the importance of emergency doors in planes.
What exactly did Tejasvi Surya do?
On 10 December last year, Surya was travelling to Tiruchirapalli for the executive meeting of Tamil Nadu BJYM from Chennai along with state BJP chief K Annamalai. The Bengaluru MP had boarded Flight 6E 7339 when he accidentally opened the emergency exit during the boarding process.
A passenger on board the same plane was quoted as telling Deccan Herald that the flight was ready for take-off when Surya pulled the lever leading to the opening of the emergency exit. “We were immediately disembarked from the plane and the flight was delayed by over two hours,” the co-flyer was quoted as saying, adding that Surya did apologise to passengers for his action in the bus in which they waited for about two hours before being allowed to board the aircraft. He then wrote an apology letter and was allotted a different seat.
IndiGo said that “the passenger immediately apologised for the action. As per SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures), the incident was logged and the aircraft underwent mandatory engineering checks, which led to a delay in the flight’s departure.”
However, many aviation experts and politicians questioned how a passenger, who had compromised the safety of others, was let off only with an “apology letter” and furthermore, why it took a month for the incident to come to light. They pointed out that in the past people who had opened the emergency exits in the past had been booked by law enforcing authorities.
What exactly are emergency doors?
As the name suggests, emergency doors are for flyers to use in a time of emergency. Due to its nature, the aircraft doors do not open during the flight but they are opened when a certain force is applied to them. Passengers sitting near exit doors are given a short training on how to use them in case of an emergency.
Aviation experts say that these emergency doors can’t be opened during a flight and that’s because of the tremendous air pressure pushing against the door in a pressurised cabin.
Patrick Smith, an airline pilot and man behind the popular AskThePilot.com website, explained, “Think of the aircraft door as a drain plug, fixed in place by the interior pressure. At a typical cruising altitude, up to eight pounds of pressure are pushing against every square inch of interior fuselage. That’s over 1,100 pounds against each square foot of door. Even at low altitudes, where cabin pressure levels are much less, a meagre 2 psi differential is still more than anyone can displace… The doors are further held secure by a series of electrical and/or mechanical latches.”
Other experts said that in the past when passengers have been curious about it they have done it only while the aircraft was still on the ground.
Where are these doors located?
In commercial jets, the doors are usually located above the wings of jet. It is important to note that emergency doors are separate from the regular doors of the aircraft, which are located in the front and rear of the plane.
Have passengers tried to open them in the past?
Tejasvi Surya isn’t the first to attempt to open the emergency airplane door. In September 2021, an American Airlines passenger opened the plane’s emergency door shortly after it landed at Miami International Airport and jumped onto the wing. The passenger was later arrested for the act.
In India too, there have been similar instances. In April 2019, a first-time flyer on board a GoAir Bengaluru-Lucknow flight mistook the emergency exit for a regular plane window and opened it while the flight was taxiing. The passenger was off-loaded, and a case was registered against him. He was later let off with a warning.
Similarly, on 10 February 2017, a passenger on an IndiGo Mumbai-Chandigarh flight opened the plane’s emergency exit before take-off. He was arrested for endangering the lives of the other flyers and booked under Section 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code and for violation of the Aircraft Rules, 1937).
In July of the same year, a passenger on AirAsia flight I5-546 tried to open the aircraft’s emergency door just before landing in Ranchi. He was later arrested and handed over to the local police.
With inputs from agencies
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