For endangering public safety, a Chinese tourists was charged for opening an emergency exit door of a Seoul-bound Asiana Airlines plane white it was already moving.
Piao, an air passenger identified only be her surname, is the first personal to face a criminal charge for her action.
She faced the court Monday in north-eastern Jilin province’s Yanji City, where the incident took place on Feb 12.
As to report, Piao’s action led the emergency slide to be deployed causing a four-hour delay, disrupting airport operations and incurring economic losses of 34, 000 yuan (P244, 000).
Piao, however, said she lifted the door handle by mistake.
Among eleven cases recorded earlier this year, Piao’s case was the most serious because it happened while the plane is till moving.
The earlier offenders were fined 5, 000 yuan, 35, 000 yuan in compensation to the airline and received administrative detention up to 15 days.
However, as to Piao’s case media reports did not carry details or say whether she was convicted.
If proven she opened the emergency door deliberately, the accused could have been charged under Section 114 of the Penal Code for endangering public safety said professor Diao Weimin of Civil Aviation Management Institute of China.
If convicted, she could face between three and 10 years in jail.
“Taking tougher legal action against such offenders would send a deterrent message to others as these cases have become more frequent,” he told The Straits Times.
In a statement on Monday, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said that such actions have “severely hurt aviation safety, disrupter flight operations and caused ill social impact”.
H/T: Inquirer.net; and photo
