A passenger aboard Xiamen Airlines Flight MF8453 opened the emergency exit door, just when the plane was preparing to take off from Hangzhou in Zhejiang province of China, on December 21.
The Chengdu-bound plane was just about to move to the runway when the man pulled open the door, hoping to get ‘some fresh air’. The flight crew immediately closed the door, instructed him not to touch anything and moved him to a seat farther from the emergency exit. The flight departed as per the schedule.
The man was not punished. The authorities said the 50-year-old man did not mean any harm; he was a first time air-traveler and mistook the exit door for a window.
Dragon Air flight KA-212 had to return and make an emergency landing at Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong, China, on July 5th.
China Eastern Airlines flight MU587 made an emergency landing at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in Anchorage, Alaska, on March 23rd.
Cathay Pacific flight CX-899 made an emergency landing in Hong Kong, China, on February 10th.
American Airlines flight AA-263 made an emergency landing at Calgary International Airport in Alberta, Canada, on October 11th.
All Nippon Airways flight NH-875 made an emergency landing in Nagoya, Japan, on October 15th.