Passenger opens plane emergency exit thinking it was the toilet

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

A passenger on a UK-Pakistan flight at Manchester Airport caused severe delays after opening the emergency exit door in an attempt to reach the bathroom while the plane was still on the ground.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight 702 was due to fly from Manchester, UK, to Islamabad, Pakistan, on Friday but suffered a delay of seven hours, according to the airline.

Forty passengers were offloaded following the incident, during which "the exit slide deployed automatically," PIA said in a statement.

A spokesman for the airline told CNN the passenger had opened the door thinking it was the bathroom, but all passengers were safe.
Manchester Airport declined to comment on Friday night's incident.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/passenger-opens-plane-emergency-exit-thinking-it-was-the-toilet/ar-AACESPv?li=BBnbfcL

I think he really would have shit himself had he been in mid flight.

[malaise]

1. On the way down

without a parachute

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. In mid-flight he couldn't have opened the door.

Because the cabin is pressurized it's impossible to open an airplane door in flight, but most people don't know that so they freak out if someone tries to do it. I can't even figure out how this guy managed to mistake the exit door for the restroom door, since exit doors are large and heavy and take some effort to open.

[Mariana]

4. He was probably drunk. nt.

[MineralMan]

6. On the doors in the plane's exit row, I believe there is an interlock

bolt that prevents even trying. Cabin pressure wouldn't stop those from opening, though, since they swing out and up. So, a mechanism prevents any attempt.

That's the Boeing 737-700 side exit doors in rows 13 or 14 or both. My preferred seating on any flight, due to the extra legroom.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

10. PIA doesn't fly 737s (they mostly have 777s). The overwing emergency exits on most aircraft

are plug-type doors which have to be physically removed and are very heavy, which is one reason the FAs try to seat "able-bodied" passengers in the exit rows. Those doors can't be opened when the airplane is pressurized because the way they are seated in the window frame makes them effectively bigger on the inside than on the outside (even the 737 door in the photo is a semi-plug door, which is held closed in part by the air pressure differential in flight). This incident seems to have involved the normal passenger entry/exit door, which is often not far from the lav door, and when armed for takeoff becomes an emergency door because if it's opened the slide deploys. But it can't be opened in flight either.

[trof]

14. No, there is no 'bolt'. It's a plug door.

As long as the cabin is unpressurized the door will open.
Once the cabin IS pressurized it would be like trying to pull a champagne cork INTO the bottle.

I used to fly damn near anything that said "Boeing" on it.

[MineralMan]

16. The 737 new generation models

Have gullwing over-wing emergency exit doors that swing out. Not plug doors. You pull the handle and they swing out and up. A latch prevents them from opening when the engines are running, and in some other circumstances. The latch is electrically powered. It automatically released if the power is gone or when release conditions exist.

It's easier for passengers s to operate, since it doesn't need to be brought into the cabin. You can see it in the photo.

[trof]

21. Ach. All this new stuff.

[Cirque du So-What]

3. Was he expecting an outhouse?

Waaaaayy out!

[MineralMan]

5. Uh-oh...

I almost always sit in exit rows when I fly. I do know how to operate the door, and I am willing to do so. However, one hopes one never has the need to.

[trof]

15. What's the going rate for an exit row seat now?

Just curious.
Last time I flew there was no charge.
It's been a while.

[MineralMan]

17. $30 on Sun Country, my carrier of choice.

It goes where I go.

[DFW]

7. That's just one more reason that people in the UK have another definition of PIA.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is also known among airport workers in the UK as "Please Inform Allah."

Actually, many airlines have their "alternate" names for their abbreviations.

The Portuguese airline TAP is known as "Take Another Plane"

Philippine Air Lines (PAL) is known as "Plane Arrives Late"

Sabena (the old Belgian flag carrier) was known as Such A Bloody Experience, Never Again.

British Airways used to be known as "British Scareways," but only among cargo handlers. They would never give me a specific example as to why, but they said "it should be obvious to you." I actually found BA's passenger service of late to be rather good, but I don't take them much. I'll tell you what, though, if it's a question of taking American Airlines from Frankfurt to Dallas or British from Heathrow to Dallas, I'd take BA every time, and I don't care HOW crowded Terminal 5 is. Spending 11 hours on an American Airlines plane is asking something above and beyond the call of duty, as far as I'm concerned.

[unc70]

9. Have had better experiences with AA

Rome to Charlotte is close to eleven hours, depending on headwinds. Have done that route several times recently. Quite pleasant. The CLT-based crews are much better than those out of ORD, for example. I have wondered if that could be a holdover from pre merger days. USAir/Piedmont.

I would not recommend Iberia for transatlantic flights. Much prefer AA operated versus Iberia codeshare.

[DFW]

13. I haven't taken Iberia transatlantic in over 15 years.

The last time was in 2003, Madrid to Quito and back. Great service, actually, just as good as the same route from Amsterdam with KLM. I'm used to miserable service with AA out of DFW, and they practically own that airport. My last transatlantic flight with AA was JFK-Zürich, a few years ago, and I couldn't get off that plane soon enough. Maybe your better experience was indeed due to the old USAir crew. I never flew transatlantic with them.

[unc70]

19. Don't fly through DFW much these days

Been several years since there. I have found that many of the AA cabin crews still live near and are based out of the same hubs as before the various mergers. Maybe it is because I am southern, but the crews out of CLT, RDU, and PHL seem generally more attentive to their passengers. Those are primarily ones from the old USAir.

My last Iberia was from ORD to MAD a couple of years ago. Food was awful; crew disappeared with no options for extra water and such.

[bluecollar2]

18. 3 more

TWA ...Try Walking Accross

BOAC...Bring On Another Carrier

ALITALIA...Always Late In Take-off Always Late In Arrival

[trof]

20. Oh lordy. Memories. Air France was Air Chance.

TWA was Teeny Weeny Airlines or The Way of Angels.
And I remember the "Fly United" copulating ducks.

And Aer Lingus.
Oh dear.

[DFW]

22. Air France has perhaps undergone the greatest metamorphosis

It used to have a lousy reputation that was well-deserved. Somebody must have let them in on the secret that if they treat their passengers better, more people will fly with them. Lufthansa customer service got so bad that I offered them money in writing if they would cede their slot for their first flight in the morning from Düsseldorf to Paris to Air France. At one point, they actually did (not for my sake), and now I'm platinum for life with Air France. It carries next to nothing perk-wise, but they do pay attention if you need something. Air France REALLY goes out of their way to help you if you arrive late for a connection in Paris. Once, a supervisor even went out on the tarmac, requisitioned a vehicle, and personally brought me to a plane I otherwise would have missed. That kind of thing means way more to me than an extra glass of champagne which I would never have touched in the first place.

[trof]

23. Wow! That's GOOD.

[DFW]

24. A complete 180 in attitude toward pasengers

From the typical government-run airline attitude of "I don't give a rat's ass, so fuck off" to "there but for grace of God go I, so what can I do to help you out?"

Somebody clued somebody in somewhere. I take them whenever and wherever I can.

[watoos]

8. I bet he voted for Br-EXIT.

[lagomorph777]

11. Thread won!

[Crunchy Frog]

12. That happened in a Monty Python sketch.