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Eight months in a Swedish prison for drunk Ryanair passenger

by Scott Carmichael (RSS feed) on Nov 6th 2009 at 1:30PM

Back in June, a drunk Ryanair passenger started to freak out, and attempted to open the aircraft door in the middle of a flight from Riga to London.

The man had finished an entire liter of vodka and a couple of beers, and it took two professional boxers to get him away from the door and pin him to the ground.

The plane ended up making an emergency landing in Sweden to dispose of their drunk cargo, which means it was up to a Swedish judge to sentence the drunkard. The judge handed him an 8 month sentence, and a substantial fine, payable to Ryanair.

The man claims he can't remember any of the incident, and blames it all on his fear of flying. The Swedish prosecutor didn't buy it, and is actually appealing the sentence as he feels it is too light. Similar cases ended up with about 18 month sentences.

The good news is that aircraft doors are virtually impossible to open midflight due to the pressure difference between the outside air and cabin.

Gallery: Ten more dumb tourists

Gallery: Ten pilots you don't want in your cockpit

Filed under: Airlines

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Sven Debordy Nov 7th 2009 2:14PM

Nae opening the door while the planen is in flighten! Having to call the jailen man if you do!

mike f Nov 7th 2009 2:36PM

he will get a job as a pilot with NORTHWEST. They need more idiot pilots.lol

Dick Nov 7th 2009 4:57PM

Fear of flying my a*s*s. I don't care what excuse he dreamed up. This guy should serve 8 YEARS... not 8 months.

Hal Morse Nov 7th 2009 5:55PM

Hate to bust that good news.....a little anyway....yes in mid flight the difference
in air pressure makes opening that door impossible.....BUT.....that
latch when flipped open will compromise the seal of the door so that
when the plane decends down to normal pressure levels {IE below 10,000'],
it can spring open during any sudden turbulance or jolt [IE when landing].
Good news though is that that breach of seal will be seen on the Pilot's
Warning Annunciator, when it first happens....so if the latch is open it can
be closed before any problems arise.

Rocketeer Nov 7th 2009 6:29PM

I DON'T QUITE BUY THE REASON OF PRESSURE DIFFERENTIAL. THE ATOMSPHERIC PRESSURE AT 35,000 FT. IS EXTREMELY SMALL. (ALMOST VACUUM).
THE CABIN IS PRESSURIZED TO A PRESSURE EQUAL TO WHAT YOU WOULD FIND AT 8000 FT. HENCE, THERE IS MORE PRESSURE INSIDE THAN OUTSIDE, WHICH SHOULD MAKE THE DOOR EASIER TO OPEN.

I RECALL MANY YEARS AGO AN AIRLINER HAD ENGINE BLOW UP AND PIECE OF METAL HIT AND BROKE A WINDOW WHERE A PASSENGER WAS SITTING. I SAY "WAS" BECAUSE HE WAS SUCKED OUT THE WINDOW INSTANTLY.

the Chief Nov 7th 2009 8:48PM

rocketeer - you are not an engineer! And apparently you don't pay much attention when flying, either. Those doors are designed to seal WITH the presure differential - watch the door close the next time you fly - the door folds INSIDE the aircraft, turns, and then presses out to seal. The door literally has to move IN nearly an inch against several tons of pressure in order to open at cruise altitude.

bill Nov 8th 2009 9:56AM

Myth Busters has already confirmed that the notion of danger of opening a door in a pressurized airplane cabin in a COMPLETE myth. No one will get sucked out. Might get a bit cold and they may all freeze but nobody gets sucked out. That being said why didn't the two boxers simply push him out the door, close it and take their seats back. Guy wanted out. They'd be heroes.

Mikael Nov 8th 2009 10:30AM

I'd take Mythbusters with a grain of salt, it is a fun show to watch but often they are just plain wrong in their conclusions. In fact there is a well known accident where an air hostess was sucked out through a gap in the fuselage.

From http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19880428-0:
"According to passenger observations, the flight attendant was immediately swept out of the cabin through a hole in the left side of the fuselage."

LOL Nov 7th 2009 6:43PM

I WISH WE WOULD START PUNISHING PEOPLE LIKE THAT INSTEAD OF LETTING THE LIBHURLS SAY EVERYONE NEEDS A SECOND CHANCE TO KILL HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE !I BET HE NEVER DOES ANYTHING LIKE THAT AGAIN UNLESS HE IS IN THE UNITED STATES.