Flight delay pushes man to the brink

Flight delays due to fog are driving people crazy. Dheeraj Malhotra, a 19-year-old passenger on the Air Deccan Mumbai-Delhi flight, got so frustrated with the delay that he opened the emergency exit door of the flight.
The Air Deccan 657 flight was slated for December 31. However, due to the delay owing to fog, it was rescheduled to 13:30 p.m. on January 1. The flight which finally took off at 18:40 p.m. had to be diverted back to the Mumbai airport as the Delhi airport had to be closed down again.
“The passengers refused to deplane. Amid the conversation, the airport services saw a passenger opening the emergency exit door,” said official spokesperson Air Deccan.
________________________
I was being made
a scapegoat
Dhiraj Malhotra (17), an engineering
student at Narsee Monjee College
(Juhu) from Dehradun, (who got
booked for opening the mergency
exit) says he has been made a
scapegoat. “The air-conditioner
and lights were then switched off,
and a few passengers then started
pushing the emergency gate,’’
Malhotra told Newsline.
“People were pushing the door—
I just supported the door to prevent
it from falling on me,’’ Malhotra
added. Pandemonium broke out as
the escape slide got inflated, and
passengers ultimately filed out.
Malhotra said since he was the one
sitting near the exit, he was blamed
and made a “scapegoat’’.
Malhotra has been charged under
Sections 336 (endangering life and
personal safety of others) and 427
(mischief causing damage) of the
IPC, along with section 29 (acts likely
to imperil safety of aircraft)
of the Aircraft Rules (1937).
02/01/07 Lekha Agarwal & Bhushan
M Shinde/Mumbai Newsline
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A case was registered at the airport police station, Santacruz. However, he was later released on a bail of Rs 5000, said police sources.
“The insane act has cost us a damage of $20,000. This is because as the emergency exit door opens the escape slide inflates. We will now have to deflate it, cut it and then replace it. The aircraft A320 has to be grounded. With one Airbus flying six sectors, the damage is going to be huge,” the spokesperson added.
03/01/07 Manisha Singhal/Megha Chaturvedi/Daily News & Analysis

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