A passenger on a commercial flight allegedly tried to force open an emergency exit door while the aircraft was in the air, cracking the window and badly damaging the exit panel before later telling police he did it because he “felt like doing so.”
Jamsheer Athanikkal, 36, was traveling on a Batik Air flight from Malaysia to India on Aug. 7 when the incident unfolded at cruising altitude, roughly 30,000 feet, officials said.
“Jamsheer was a traveler in seat number 12A, [and] without any provocation, he tried to open the emergency exit and destroyed the exit window panel,” a police officer told the Indian Express.
“He threatened the co-passengers and the crew, who tried to prevent him,” the officer added. “Later, he was overpowered by the co-passengers and the crew.”
Athanikkal reportedly told investigators he had been heading home to meet his newborn child.
Video circulating on social media from inside the aircraft captured the tense moments as passengers and crew restrained the agitated man, eventually securing him with zip ties.
The footage also showed the damage left behind, including a long crack running through the emergency exit window and a shattered plastic panel below it.
After the plane landed at Kochi Airport, Athanikkal was arrested on charges that included criminal intimidation, disobeying official safety instructions and endangering public safety, according to the Deccan Chronicle, which reported that the charges were later upgraded.
“As the act of the accused could have endangered the lives of the co-passengers, we have evoked an attempt to murder charge against him,” a police officer told the outlet.
