Passenger tries to open aircraft door mid-air

A tense moment has unfolded aboard a Plus Ultra flight when a passenger attempted to open the aircraft door mid-flight between Madrid, Spain (MAD/LEMD) and Caracus, Venezuela (CCS/SVMI).

Flight attendants scrambled to restrain a man who leaped up from his seat and tried to open the emergency exit of the Airbus A330 widebody jet as it flew high above the Atlantic Ocean. Dramatic eyewitness video captured the moment that passengers cried out in terror as the man was wrestled away from the exit by flight attendants and several good samaritans.

The terrifying incident occurred on a flight operated by Spanish airline Plus Ultra, which operates regularly scheduled flights from its hub in Madrid to Latin America, as well as charter and wet-lease services on behalf of other airlines.

On this occasion, the flight was a scheduled service for Plus Ultra and was not being operated for another airline, and despite the horrifying turn of events the flight ended up landing in Caracas ahead of schedule.

It’s still unclear what brought the man to attempt to open the emergency exit, although his chances of succeeding were pretty much nil. Once modern aircraft, like the Airbus A330, have reached an altitude of around 10,000 feet, the difference between the internal cabin pressure and the outside air pressure effectively seals the doors shut, meaning that any attempt to open the door at cruising altitude would be fruitless.

Some aircraft also have a special speed or flight lock feature that mechanically locks the door shut after the aircraft reaches a certain speed, effectively making it impossible to open the cabin door as the aircraft speeds for takeoff to the point at which it has slowed down on the runway after landing.

Aircraft Information:
Airline: Plus Ultra
Code: PU/PUE
Aircraft: Airbus A330-202
Registration: EC-NUL
Serial Number: 0749
Engines: 2 x GE CF6-80E1A4
First Flew: 28th April 2006
Age: 18.8 Years old