Passenger Says He "Felt Like" Opening Plane's Exit Door at 30,000 Feet

A passenger was arrested and charged with attempted murder after allegedly trying to smash open an emergency exit while a Batik Air flight was cruising at 30,000 feet, telling police afterward that he simply "felt like doing so at that moment."

Jamsheer Athanikkal, 36, was traveling from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Kochi, India, on Aug. 7 when the incident occurred sometime between 9:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. local time. According to a police officer who spoke with the Indian Express, Athanikkal, seated in seat 12A, "without any provocation... tried to open the emergency exit and destroyed the exit window panel."

A Chaotic Scene Onboard

Fellow passengers and cabin crew stepped in to stop him as he attempted to force the door open, according to police. "He threatened the co-passengers and the crew, who tried to prevent him," an officer told the Indian Express. "Later, he was overpowered by the co-passengers and the crew."

Video shared on social media showed Athanikkal being physically restrained inside the cabin. Scratch marks were reportedly visible on the window he's accused of trying to pry open, and he allegedly caused additional damage to plastic interior paneling near the exit.

Once the aircraft landed safely in Kochi, Athanikkal was taken into custody. Police said he was on his way home to see his newborn child at the time of the incident.

A Motive That Remains Unclear

Investigators have said Athanikkal's actions didn't appear to stem from any obvious personal crisis. "He said he felt like doing so at that moment," a police officer told the Indian Express, adding, "It was not like he had lost his job." Separately, some reporting indicated Athanikkal told officers he had "felt like dying" while on the flight, though police have said the motive remains unclear and under investigation.

Athanikkal was initially arrested and charged with criminal intimidation, failure to follow official safety directions and endangering public safety. Authorities have since added a more serious charge under Section 109 of India's Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, roughly equivalent to attempted murder, which carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison. If the act had caused actual physical harm to a passenger or crew member, that penalty could increase to life imprisonment. "As the act of the accused could have endangered the lives of the co-passengers, we have evoked an attempt to murder charge against him," a police officer told the Deccan Chronicle, adding that "he has to be questioned in detail as part of the probe."

Batik Air and the Nedumbassery Police Station did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Part of a Recurring Pattern

Incidents involving passengers attempting to open aircraft emergency exits mid-flight, while rare, aren't unheard of. Earlier this year, a Jordanian man was charged after allegedly trying to open two exit doors during a flight from Malaysia to Sydney. In a separate 2025 incident in South Korea, a passenger who successfully opened an emergency door on an Asiana Airlines flight told police he'd felt suffocated and stressed after recently losing his job; 12 people aboard that flight were treated for minor injuries after the cabin lost pressure.

The investigation into Athanikkal's case remains ongoing.

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