What do Aircraft rules say about accidentally opening emergency doors?
Several netizens took to Twitter and questioned why the incident was not reported and the passenger was dealt with appropriately, while people committing such incidents previously got punished.
Hyderabad: Tejasvi Surya, national president of the BJP Yuva Morcha and the party’s MP from Bengaluru South, allegedly opened the emergency exit of an IndiGo aircraft at Chennai airport on December 10 last year. The ATR 72-600 aircraft flying from Chennai to Trichy was on ground at the time of the incident.
The airline, which was delayed by 142 minutes after the incident, released a statement on January 17, and referred to the incident as an “accident” by a “passenger travelling on Flight 6E 7339”.
IndiGo also stated 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”.
The incident has sparked several safety concerns regarding the “accidental opening” of the emergency escape. Many aviation experts and politicians also questioned on how a passenger, who had compromised the safety of others, was let off only with an “apology letter” and, why it took a month for the incident to come to light. They even pointed out that people who had opened the emergency exits in the past had been booked by law enforcement authorities.
What exactly are emergency doors?
As the name suggests, emergency doors, which are usually located above the aircraft’s wings, are intended to help the flyers quickly evacuate an aircraft in an emergency. Passengers sitting near exit doors are given a short training on how to use them in case of an emergency. These emergency doors can’t be opened easily in mid-air because of the tremendous air pressure pushing against the door in a pressurised cabin. During the flight, they can only be opened when a certain force is applied to them.
Have passengers tried to open them in the past?
Though it’s impossible for anyone to open the flight doors mid-air ‘by mistake’, it is indeed possible for a passenger to open an emergency door when the aircraft is on the ground. If reports are to go by, there have been several instances when passengers, out of curiosity or something else, tried to open an emergency exit, only to be restrained by the flight crew or those around them. However, doing this constitutes a violation, unless authorised by crew members to do so during an emergency.
What do the Aircraft Rules say?
As per Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2017, if an accident or an incident occurs to an aircraft, then the pilot‐in‐command of the aircraft, the owner, the operator, the hirer, shall:
Send notice thereof to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau and Director-General of Civil Aviation by the quickest means of communication available; and in the case of an accident occurring in India, give information to the District Magistrate and the Officer‐in‐charge of the nearest Police Station of the accident and of the place where it occurred.
While the incident happened on December 10, it was only on January 17 that DGCA officials said an inquiry had been ordered into the incident, ANI reported.
Meanwhile, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia said, “When the incident happened, Tejasvi Surya himself reported it to the pilot and crew. Full protocol was followed as DGCA investigated. Only after all checks, the aircraft took off. He (Surya) himself apologised for the delay caused due to the incident,” ANI reported.
Here’s how netizens react:
Several netizens took to Twitter and questioned why the incident was not reported and the passenger was dealt with appropriately, while people committing such incidents previously got punished.
“In 2017, an IndiGo flyer was booked for endangering the lives of co-passengers after he opened the emergency exit. Tejasvi Surya got away with a sorry (sic),” read a tweet.
“How does #BJP get away with impunity at this level?! (sic),” said another user. “Rules should be the same for all (sic),” said the third user.
