A drunk passenger sparked panic after ripping a plane door off its hinges just moments before take off.
The unnamed man rushed towards the wing of the Airbus A320 and pulled the emergency door off - causing the inflatable slide to deploy - just as the plane was preparing to taxi across the tarmac at Chiang Mai International Airport, northern Thailand, yesterday (7 November) afternoon.
Some of the 86 passengers screamed before airport security held down the man, who was reportedly drunk.
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The man was subsequently detained in custody while airport officials investigated the incident.
Flight WE169 had been due to depart at 3.40pm but was delayed, eventually taking off for Bangkok at around 5pm.
A spokesman for airline Thai Smile said the man had caused 600,000 baht (£15,442) in damage.
They added: ''The incident occurred when the plane was about to depart from Chiang Mai International Airport for Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok.
''After the aircraft door had been successfully closed there was a wait for a taxi to take off.
''A foreign male passenger ran to open the emergency exit door next to the left wing of the plane. The incident caused the emergency door to be opened entirely and an emergency slide unfolded.
''The captain immediately suspended the flight and notified ground officials and security personnel to control the incident. The foreign man was detained, but it it not yet clear what his motivation was to do this.''
While it is undeniably difficult to explain why the guy did this, it's not the first time a passenger has had the daft idea of opening a plane door.
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A woman did the same thing on a Xiamen Airlines flight in September at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport, China.
Flight attendants had reportedly warned the female passenger and others near her not to touch the lever of the emergency door after she was shown to her seat, but she ignored them, citing the fact it was 'too stuffy'.
The flight was delayed by more than an hour while airport police came and arrested the woman - and, presumably, while one of the crew closed the door.
Earlier this year a woman was removed from a Jet2 flight and arrested at Stansted Airport after she allegedly tried to open the emergency door shouting 'I'll kill you all'.
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Chloe Haines, 25, needed to be restrained by crew with the help of passengers just 45 minutes into the journey from Stansted Airport to Dalaman, Turkey.
Haines is said to have displayed a 'catalogue of aggressive, abusive and dangerous behaviour' on the aircraft, which included attempting to open the aircraft doors during the flight.
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