Patna/New Delhi: Imagine you are in an airborne flight and a passenger tries to open the emergency door! Scary, right? But that's exactly what the 150 passengers of a GoAir flight went through last Saturday.

Flight no G8 149 from Delhi to Patna had a first-time flyer who wanted to use the lavatory. He mistook the emergency exit towards the rear side of the aircraft for the door to the loo. When he tried to pull it open, some passengers screamed in fear as some others resisted him. A few of them sustained minor injuries in the process.

Hilarious as the story may read, it was a security scare. The matter was immediately conveyed to the chief pilot following standard protocols. The chief pilot, in turn, conveyed the matter to the Air Traffic Control.

Immediately upon landing in Patna airport at 7:35 PM, the passenger was detained by the CISF, the agency responsible for security of airports. After preliminary investigations, he was handed over to the city police. The airport police station interrogated him at length — only to find out there was no ulterior motive involved; he simply wanted to go to the washroom.

The incident has been confirmed by the airline. It said, “A passenger on flight G8 149 Del-Pat was trying to open the rear door of the aircraft while on air. A co-passenger raised the alarm and he was intercepted by the crew. Post arrival, the passenger was handed over to CISF for further investigation.”