In a shocking incident, a passenger was arrested for attempting to open a plane door during takeoff in Thailand. The passenger, identified as Wong Sai Heung, a 40-year-old Canadian tourist, reportedly experienced a panic attack and tried to disembark from the plane as it was departing from Chiang Mai International Airport.
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The incident occurred on an Airbus A320, just as the plane was lining up on the runway for takeoff. Heung began to scream and demanded a flight attendant to open the door so he could exit the aircraft. When the flight attendant refused, Heung ran towards an exit behind the cockpit of the plane and attempted to push it open. This action caused the emergency slide to deploy while the plane was waiting to join the runway.
The outburst not only frightened fellow travelers but also disrupted other arriving flights, which had to wait in a holding pattern in the sky to land due to the active scene on the runway. Law enforcement quickly stormed onto the plane and arrested Heung. During questioning at the Phuping Rajanivej Police Station, Heung, who works as a computer engineer in Vancouver, explained that he suffered from panic disorder, which was triggered before the plane was set to take off. He expressed fear that he was being stalked by an underground organization, which allegedly led him to open the door so he could jump off the aircraft.
The incident resulted in the cancellation of the flight, forcing other passengers to stay in a hotel while they waited for their flight to Bangkok to be rescheduled⁴. Thai Airways confirmed that all passengers, pilots, and crew members were safe. This incident underscores the importance of mental health awareness and the need for airlines to have protocols in place to handle such situations. It also serves as a reminder of the potential dangers and disruptions that can occur when a passenger experiences a panic attack during a flight.