The Bengaluru International Airport police on Sunday arrested a 29-year-old software engineer working in the United States of America (USA) for trying to pull the lever of the Air France flight backdoor mid-air .
The accused was flying from Paris to Bengaluru on Saturday when the incident occurred. While the flight was four hours away to reach the destination, the accused identified as Venkat Mohith Patipaati, from Rajamundri in Andhra Pradesh, tried to pull the lever of the left-side of the backdoor .
The aircrew noticed the suspicious behaviour and alerted the captain who questioned the accused and shifted him to a safer seat before conducting safety audit and filing a report against him. The accused was handed over to the security of the Air France office soon after the landing who in turn handed him over to the BIAL police. He had come to visit his relatives in the country. The police have taken him into custody and he claimed that he tried to pull the lever out of curiosity.
Based on the complaint filed by Sheeba Swaminathan, duty manager, Air France, the accused was booked under section 336 ( rash and negligent act to endanger human life) and also under various sections of Aircraft Rules. The accused after being questioned and recording his statement was released on station bail .
