Vietnam Airlines passenger sets off emergency slide

Please read the news below and advise if the emergency door can be
opened just by touching the handle. What is the credibility of the
story.

Should this forum is not for such discussion then please accept my
apology

Hanh
__________________________________________________ _________

From http://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaki...il.asp?id=2138

Vietnam Airlines passenger sets off emergency slide
(08-07 19:35)
A Vietnam Airlines passenger faces a fine after he set off the
inflatable emergency slide of a parked Airbus A321 at Taipei's airport
last weekend, state media reported.

Cabin crew discovered the device had been released shortly before the
jet was to fly to Hanoi, the VN Express online newspaper reported.

Vietnamese passenger Le Van Hanh, 26, triggered the device when he
touched the emergency handle on one of the exit doors, the report
said.

Hanh on Thursday met Vietnamese aviation authorities in Hanoi to sign
a paper committing him to pay a fine of up to 50 million dong (HK
$23,409).

''The incident happened because the air hostess did not provide me
with a thorough explanation,'' Hanh was quoted as saying. ``I touched
[the door] by accident, not deliberately.''

writes:

Please read the news below and advise if the emergency door can be
opened just by touching the handle. What is the credibility of the
story.

On the ground in an unpressurized aircraft, it is certainly possible to deploy
an emergency slide by _moving_ (not just touching) the door handle, if the
slide is armed (e.g., if the door is set to automatic). I don't know the
specifics of the A321, but this is true more or less for most jet airliners.

An irate or stupid passenger could thus open the door before a flight begins,
after the doors are armed, and deploy the slide.

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
writes:

Please read the news below and advise if the emergency door can be
opened just by touching the handle. What is the credibility of the
story.

On the ground in an unpressurized aircraft, it is certainly possible to
deploy
an emergency slide by _moving_ (not just touching) the door handle, if the
slide is armed (e.g., if the door is set to automatic). I don't know the
specifics of the A321, but this is true more or less for most jet
airliners.

An irate or stupid passenger could thus open the door before a flight
begins,
after the doors are armed, and deploy the slide.

But the door slide is not armed until the aircraft starts to move.

It is not possible to open the door, much less deploy the slide, simply by
touching the handle.

For the slide to deploy the door has to be opened (handle has to be moved
and the door manouvered open) and then either the person opening the door
has to pull a second handle to deploy the slide or (more usually) the door
has to have been previously set so that the slide will deploy automatically
when opened (know as "arming the door"). Typically, as the aircraft starts
to move the doors are "armed"; they remain in that state until just before
the aircraft arrives at the terminal. You've probably heard words similar
to "doors to automatic and cross check" as you move away from the terminal -
that's the crew being told to arm the doors.

There have been very rare instances of the slide deploying without the door
opening. This would almost certainly lead to some injuries as the slide
tries to fill the cabin.

Graham Harrison writes:

But the door slide is not armed until the aircraft starts to move.

Maybe he tried to open it while they aircraft was on the taxiway (?).

It is not possible to open the door, much less deploy the slide, simply by
touching the handle.

Agreed.

For the slide to deploy the door has to be opened (handle has to be moved
and the door manouvered open) and then either the person opening the door
has to pull a second handle to deploy the slide or (more usually) the door
has to have been previously set so that the slide will deploy automatically
when opened (know as "arming the door"). Typically, as the aircraft starts
to move the doors are "armed"; they remain in that state until just before
the aircraft arrives at the terminal. You've probably heard words similar
to "doors to automatic and cross check" as you move away from the terminal -
that's the crew being told to arm the doors.

So maybe the aircraft was already moving when he operated the door. Or
there's an error in the report.

There have been very rare instances of the slide deploying without the door
opening. This would almost certainly lead to some injuries as the slide
tries to fill the cabin.

Wasn't it Obama's chartered airplane that recently had to make an emergency
landing because a slide or raft had deployed inside the aircraft and
interfered with control cables?

wrote in message
...
Please read the news below and advise if the emergency door can be
opened just by touching the handle. What is the credibility of the
story.

Should this forum is not for such discussion then please accept my
apology

From http://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaki...il.asp?id=2138


Why on earth would you touch the handle at all? Doesn't have big a red "do
not touch" sign?

So is the fine really 50 million dong? It says "up to," so I suspect you'll
be able to negotiate your way out.

Cheers,
George W Russell
Bangalore

grusl writes:

Why on earth would you touch the handle at all? Doesn't have big a red "do
not touch" sign?

No, it doesn't.

So is the fine really 50 million dong? It says "up to," so I suspect you'll
be able to negotiate your way out.

The amount of $23,000 mentioned is just about the cost of restowing the
slide/raft.

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
grusl writes:

Why on earth would you touch the handle at all? Doesn't have big a red
"do
not touch" sign?

No, it doesn't.


Oh what, is it a brass handle that says "Knock and enter"?

So is the fine really 50 million dong? It says "up to," so I suspect
you'll
be able to negotiate your way out.

The amount of $23,000 mentioned is just about the cost of restowing the
slide/raft.

No, it's the cost to him of not putting him in prison until he atones for
his foolish action. I've been on dozens of VN flights .. the passengers paw
and grab at everything and everyone.

Cheers,
George W Russell
Bangalore

grusl writes:

Oh what, is it a brass handle that says "Knock and enter"?

Usually something like "Emergency use only" or "Exit."

No, it's the cost to him of not putting him in prison until he atones for
his foolish action. I've been on dozens of VN flights .. the passengers paw
and grab at everything and everyone.

It's also pretty close to the cost of stowing the raft/slide. They are very
expensive to put back into service.

In article , grusl says...

I've been on dozens of VN flights .. the passengers paw
and grab at everything and everyone.

Great. Why don't they walk into the pilot's cabin in mid-flight and
start playing with the controls?
--

Alfred Molon
http://www.molon.de - Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe

"Alfred Molon" wrote in message
...
In article , grusl says...

I've been on dozens of VN flights .. the passengers paw
and grab at everything and everyone.

Great. Why don't they walk into the pilot's cabin in mid-flight and
start playing with the controls?

I remember one aggressive business-class passenger on a HAN-HKG flight
demanding that his son be allowed to sit in the cockpit. The Zimbabwean
pilot declined, even though his Vietnamese co-pilot said refusal would bring
trouble.

Cheers,
George W Russell
Bangalore