Passenger tries to open door on WestJet aircraft mid-flight

Passenger tries to open door on WestJet aircraft mid-flight

www.calgaryherald.com

Woman accused of trying to open airplane door
Wed Jul 7, 5:39 PM
By The Canadian Press

WINNIPEG - A Newfoundland woman is facing charges after a passenger tried unsuccessfully to open the door of a WestJet flight while in the skies over the Prairies.

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[edit on 9/7/2010 by Mirthful Me]

I just thought this was odd, but when i google'd the story I found tons of links to similar stories, it seems to happen really frequently
like once a week including some cases where the person actually opens the door and jumps to their death the link below details a guy jumping 33'000 feet to his death after opening an airplane door just last year

www.guardian.co.uk...

I only posted this because it seems to be happening frequently yet Ive never heard of it, and was wondering if anybody has been on a plane when this has happened, as well as what do you think the person should be charged with or not charged with, considering some are charged with terrorism, especially in the U.s.a. , kids taken away, stays in mental institutions and generally over the top punishments .

www.calgaryherald.com
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[edit on 9-7-2010 by DrunkNinja]

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[edit on 9/7/2010 by Mirthful Me]

Scary stuff. I didn't realize this happened so often either. It actually did happen on a flight I was on once. Right across the aisle from me, very back of the plane, on a plane with two rows on one side and three on the other, a man stumbled over to the door and started trying to open it.

The flight attendant, who was sitting there talking with me, managed to dive to prevent a catastrophe. All I really remember is screaming, "Oh ***!" and hanging on tight.

I think people panic. Get claustrophobic and have a sudden overwhelming need to get out. Or they're afraid of flying and change their minds. Sometimes they're probably just plain drunk, like the guy on my flight was. Who knows what he was thinking. Anyway, I guess the punishment should really go with the situation? Assess why it happened and go from there.

I do remember thinking after that they really should have a way to disable those doors from opening with some kind of override in case of emergency. Some planes might actually have this...not sure though.

The aircraft was a 737-700 and its very hard if not impossible to open a door in flight especially if it pressurised above 10000 feet.She probably had a bad feeling about the flight or was scared of flying and when in this state of panic some people do irrational things ,i dont think it was a deliberate attempt to endanger lives and she shouldnt be treated to harshly unless it's found that she is a complete nutter and if so she should be taken up for some parachute jumps and see how keen she is to jump out then.

Reminds me of the Twilight Zone episode where William Shatner's character sees some kind of monkey type being out on the wing messing with the airplane's engines. I think he ended up trying to open up the door and knock the monkey creature off the wing.

reply to post by SheeplFlavoredAgain


I so remember that episode!

Twas a gremlin it was

It is impossible to open the door of a commercial airliner while in flight, pressurized.

The doors are a plug design that seal firmly when pressurized.


It is a "safety' thing, so that the pressure doesn't blow the door out.

BTW the Twilight Zone Episode was Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.

I liked the remake of it in the movie.

I have only flown on a plane a hand full of times (cant count on both hands still).
Only once have I experienced someone freaking out. Usually these people are panicking because of personal fears, triggers, etc and is not intentionally meant to endanger everyone but that is unfortunately the consequence that does not pass their mind at the time of their "fight/flight" syndrome.

In the case it happened when I was on the plane, a doctor was on board and happened to have some anti anxiety pills and he just gave the passenger a couple after being restrained. The plane did not have to make an emergency landing because it was under control quite fast.

After talking to the doctor in the airport after, he regularly flies and and advised me he always carries these meds because he sees it fairly often apparently. He also once born a baby on a plane. Cool guy. Very interesting.

reply to post by SheeplFlavoredAgain


I remember that episode, I saw it as a kid, but I never realised it was William Shatner?!?

I would agree though that it would be impossible to actually open a commercial arcraft passenger door in flight. The pressure inside pushes the door closed, which is why the doors open inwards and are kinda stopper shaped (wider on the inside than on the out).

I agree with previous statements that it/should be impossible, but i believe that most aircraft doors are fitted with a slight explosive charge to open the door in case they have to abandon the aircraft quickly.

It would open very quickly after that...

Originally posted by BSG75
I agree with previous statements that it/should be impossible, but i believe that most aircraft doors are fitted with a slight explosive charge to open the door in case they have to abandon the aircraft quickly.

It would open very quickly after that...

Oh yeah, I think I remember hearing that somewhere (probably in a movie or something), so if they managed to activate the charge, I suppose it could be possible. Although, you would expect it to have a redundancy system in place to make it almost impossible to activate it unless you know what you're doing/by accident.

Good thing they have child locks for idiots like them.
How does I open pressure lock?

lol. Don't worry. If an idiot tries it, they're usually arrested.

reply to post by SheeplFlavoredAgain




I remember that episode too - some Twilight Zoners here - cool!

Originally posted by 12voltz
She probably had a bad feeling about the flight or was scared of flying and when in this state of panic some people do irrational things ,i dont think it was a deliberate attempt to endanger lives and she shouldnt be treated to harshly unless it's found that she is a complete nutter

So if Im driving down the interstate and get a bad feeling and jump out of my car causing a 15 car pileup, I shouldnt be treated too harshly either? Or I think my boat may be sinking so I jump in the dingy and let it plow through the harbor haphazardly.

No, sorry. You try to open a door on an airplane in flight, you go to jail. Attempted murder for everyone on board. You try to light a shoe on fire, you go to jail, you try to bring a leatherman or boxcutter on, youre in for it. I would trust someone with a firearm on a plane more than some nut trying to open the door. Immediate NO-FLY list, and brought up on very harsh charges. We go through enough crap getting on a plane, I dont want to worry about some drunk, irrate, or confused moron trying to depressurize the cabin and kill us all.

Originally posted by SheeplFlavoredAgain
Reminds me of the Twilight Zone episode where William Shatner's character sees some kind of monkey type being out on the wing messing with the airplane's engines. I think he ended up trying to open up the door and knock the monkey creature off the wing.

Eek. One of the freakiest episodes!

reply to post by DrunkNinja


Perhaps she realized she left an iron on at home, or the stove, or didn't like the little bag of peanuts she got, for an outrageous flight price tag!

Let's all hope she gets the help she needs, and quit trying to analyze a lunatic!

Seems to be like a good way to commit a murder without having to deal with too many questions. O yea he just opened the door and jumped out and we had to make an emergency landing. Case closed

reply to post by DrunkNinja


Some people should permanently lose their right to fly.

How many Newfies does it take to unlock an airplane door midflight?...

Obviosuly more than 1.

reply to post by salchanra

I would hate to be in a court of law with you as the judge.She would never have got the door open anyway, a little different from you jumping out of your car because you could just put on the brakes so that analogy really doesn't stand up.If it was a deliberate attempt to bring the aircraft down then burn the witch.