A Canadian tourist opened the door of a Thai Airways THAI.BK flight that was preparing to take off from Chiang Mai airport bound for the capital Bangkok, local broadcaster ThaiPBS and officials said this week.
“The whole plane was in chaos,” wrote Facebook user Ananya Tiangtae, who was on the flight, adding that officials escorted the passenger off the plane.
“What if we were 30,000 feet above sea level? What would happen?” Ananya also wrote.
A passenger opened the emergency door, causing the inflatable slide to activate and the aircraft was unable to take off, Chiang Mai Airport director Ronnakorn Chalermsaenyakorn said late on Thursday.
The plane returned to the terminal and passengers disembarked, and technicians carried out safety inspections, he said. The disruption affected over a dozen other flights at the airport, Ronnakorn said