Terrifying Moment Passenger Tries To Open Plane's Emergency Exit At 30,000Ft 'Because He Felt Like It', Is Charged With Attempted Murder Of Everyone On Board

This is the heart-stopping moment a passenger allegedly tried to force open an emergency exit door mid-flight, putting the lives of every single person on the plane in deadly danger.

Shocking footage circulating online captures the pure chaos inside the cabin as crew and terrified passengers wrestle with the man, who had already smashed the window panel and was going for the handle.

Indian national Jamsheer Athanikkal, 36, was travelling on a Batik Air flight from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia to Kochi in India when the nightmare unfolded at cruising altitude.

Without any warning or provocation, the hospitality worker seated in 12A allegedly began behaving erratically, kicked and destroyed the emergency exit window panel, and then attempted to yank the door open – all while the aircraft was thousands of feet in the air

.Passengers reported hearing a sudden rush of air as panic swept through the cabin. Many were woken from their sleep on the overnight flight by the terrifying sound.

In the dramatic video, Athanikkal can be seen being restrained by multiple people as arms flail and voices rise. Staff and fellow travellers eventually overpowered him and secured his hands with cable ties for the rest of the journey.

When police questioned him after the plane landed safely in Kochi, his explanation was as bizarre as it was chilling.

He simply said he “felt like doing so at that moment” – and later claimed he had “felt like dying while travelling on the flight”.Athanikkal, a native of Palakkad in Kerala who works in Malaysia, was flying home to see his newborn child. Officers confirmed there was no apparent trigger – no job loss, no argument, nothing. Just an impulse that could have doomed everyone on board.

Kochi airport police said: “Without any provocation, he tried to open the emergency exit and destroyed the exit window panel. He threatened the co-passengers and the crew, who tried to prevent him. Later, he was overpowered by the co-passengers and the crew.”

He was initially charged with criminal intimidation, violating aircraft safety rules and endangering public safety. But officers have now added the far more serious charge of attempted murder – because his actions risked the lives of every passenger and crew member on the flight.

Scratch marks were clearly visible around the damaged window panel after the ordeal.

Experts note that the massive pressure difference at 30,000 feet makes it virtually impossible for a person to actually open an emergency door in flight. But damaging the seals and panel still created a real risk of sudden depressurisation – a catastrophe that could have brought the plane down.

Athanikkal was detained by CISF officers the moment the aircraft touched down and handed over to local police. Officers are now seeking further custody and plan to assess his mental condition.

The chilling clip has left viewers across the world stunned. One moment of madness, one man who “felt like it” – and an entire plane full of people who came within a hair’s breadth of disaster.