'Giant' passenger tried to open plane door (I don't care how big he is - beat him anyway!)

Aftenposten Nettutgaven ^ | 9.18.03 | Jonathan Tisdall

[mhking]

A Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) flight bound for Oslo from London Heathrow had to turn back after a passenger repeatedly tried to open a back door while the plane was in the air. SAS officials said the flight was never in danger, but several eyewitnesses feared the worst before the flight crew managed to calm the man.

Several of flight SK 510's passengers told newspaper VG that they were frightened during the short trip.

"We left Heathrow around 5:30 pm and had flown about half an hour when a giant of a North African went back in the plane and tried to push down the handle and release the main door. He seemed very determined," an Norwegian passenger who remained anonymous told VG.

"The man was about two meters tall (6'-6-1/2") and weighed about 140 kilos (300 lbs). He seemed to be on something, because he had a murderous look," another nervous passenger told the newspaper.

SAS information consultant Trine Loevberg explained that it is not possible to open the doors in the air, and a lamp immediately went off in the cockpit when the door was touched the first time. The pilot then announced that there was something wrong with the main rear door.

Shortly after the first attempt the large passenger gave the door another try.

"He started to fiddle with the handle and then put a lot of force behind it. I thought that he was either completely crazy, or an unsuccessful terrorist. He seemed to be in a trance," a passenger said.

Cabin crew attended to the unruly passenger and managed to keep him calm. The pilot decided that the wisest course was to turn the plane back to London.

"The man was completely calm and, according to the captain, appeared very lethargic. Besides protesting about the return to London he was not aggressive at all. He was not drunk either," Loevberg said.

Seven British police officers took the passenger into custody after landing, and also confiscated a large black sack the man had with him.

[TruthShallSetYouFree]

The flight attendants should have realized that there was a problem when the guy started singing, "Tut Tut Tutsi, goodbye."

[68skylark]

I'm sure there are Freepers who know much more about this than me. But I thought all the door and emergency exits on an airliner open inward only. So when the cabin is pressurized, it would take tons of force to force one of these open -- I doubt ten passengers could have done it.

[Ronin]

I think he was looking for the restroom and got confused by the signs.

(sorta sarcasm, but who knows)

[shaggy eel]

,,, I think cabins are pressurised to around 6000ft or a bit more. Even that much may have had an effect on the guy and he freaked.

[dagnabbit]

Why was this North African on a flight to Norway in the first place? Did some idiot give him a visa or admit him as a "refugee"? Sounds like leftist immigration policies at work here.

[shaggy eel]

,,, he was probably the new ambassador and he'd decided not to fly in the cargo hold this time round.

[blam]

"I think cabins are pressurised to around 6000ft or a bit more. Even that much may have had an effect on the guy and he freaked."

Yea right. Maybe he was a suicide terrorist also.

[shaggy eel]

Maybe he was a suicide terrorist also.

,,, pig's arse he was.

[B-Chan]

I don't care if he's the size of the late André the Giant – anybody that starts messing around with the doors of a plane I'm flyng on is going to get hurt. 6' 6", 300 pounds, whatever – I'm going to do my level best to kill the sonofabitch, alone and with my bare hands if necessary. Spirit of Flight 93!

[blam]

"I'm going to do my level best to kill the sonofabitch, alone and with my bare hands if necessary. Spirit of Flight 93!"

Now you're talking.

[shaggy eel]

,,, tell that to whoever checked him onto the flight with the mystery black sack - and as long as you're capable of street theatre to the point you seem to be, it may be better if you stay on the ground too.

[shaggy eel]

Now you're talking.

,,, yeah, now you're talking [yawn]. Kill, kill, kill.

[Walkingfeather]

You would have to beat me to the punch ....so to speak.

[lorrainer]

One word: "Duct Tape."

[NovemberCharlie]

But I thought all the door and emergency exits on an airliner open inward only.

I never paid much attention, but I think the main door on every plane I've been on opened to the outside; I can't recall ever seeing one that opened inward.

I think the emergency exits open outward in the safety diagrams, too.

[Axenolith]

Who pissed in your cornflakes this morning?

[RJBJR]

"We left Heathrow around 5:30 pm and had flown about half an hour when a giant of a North African went back in the plane and tried to push down the handle and release the main door. He seemed very determined," an Norwegian passenger who remained anonymous told VG.


He must have forgot his Voodoo doll and just wanted to go back and get it.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

I don't care if he's the size of the late André the Giant – anybody that starts messing around with the doors of a plane I'm flyng on is going to get hurt. 6' 6", 300 pounds, whatever – I'm going to do my level best to kill the sonofabitch, alone and with my bare hands if necessary. Spirit of Flight 93!

I keep wondering why they didn't beat the hell out of the guy. I'm 6'2" and 240# and when I fly I carry three rolls of quarters and a pair of gym socks in my briefcase just for this purpose!

[namsman]

If you ever have the chance to watch the doors on airliners closely, you'll note that they open inward for a couple of inches then they swing outward. This is because they are designed as "plugs". The greater the pressure differential between the inside of the cabin and the atmosphere outside, the greater force holding the door closed. At altitude, there is no chance that any human can force the door open unless the pressure is equalized. In that case, at altitude, he better do it before hypoxia sets in.

namsman sends