A 36-year-old Indian man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after allegedly trying to force open a plane’s emergency exit door at 30,000 feet.
Jamsheer Athanikkal was aboard a Batik Air service from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Kochi, India, on Wednesday when the incident unfolded midair.
He is accused of smashing the window panel of the emergency exit “without any provocation.”
Police believe the hospitality worker attempted to open the door simply because “he felt like it”, according to The Indian Express and The Hindu.
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Dramatic footage captured the chaos inside the cabin as fellow passengers scrambled to intervene.
Athanikkal, who was seated in 12A, allegedly began trying to wrench open the emergency exit while the aircraft was cruising at altitude.
Scratch marks were visible on the window he is accused of attempting to force open.
When other passengers and cabin crew stepped in to stop him, he reportedly turned on them with threats.
Those on board eventually managed to overpower the 36-year-old and bound his hands using cable ties.
The pilot then diverted the flight back to Kuala Lumpur, where Athanikkal was taken into custody.
The incident is believed to have unfolded between 9.30pm and 11pm on Wednesday evening.
Athanikkal works in the hospitality sector and was reportedly travelling home to visit his newborn child.
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After his arrest, he told officers he had “felt like dying while travelling on the flight”.
Investigators are now trying to establish a motive for the attempted murder charge.
Police said the suspect’s actions did not appear to stem from any personal crisis, noting that he had not recently lost his employment.
A spokesman for Kochi airport police said: “He said he felt like doing so at that moment. It was not like he had lost his job.”
The spokesman added: “Jamsheer was a traveller in seat number 12A. Without any provocation, he tried to open the emergency exit and destroyed the exit window panel.”
He continued: “He threatened the co-passengers and the crew, who tried to prevent him. Later, he was overpowered by the co-passengers and the crew.”
Officers confirmed the flight crew have since returned to Malaysia, with police statements to be collected at a later date.
Authorities are also considering whether charges under the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation Act could be brought against the suspect.
The spokesman said: “Police will seek his custody from the court for further questioning.”
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