General Manager of Air Services Limited (ASL) Annette Arjoon-Martins yesterday assured that passengers were not jeopardised when one of the company’s Britten Norman Islander’s door opened up during a flight to Kamarang on Monday.
The plane, 8R-GHE, departed the Ogle International Airport around midday with four travelers and during its descent into the village the left passenger’s door opened.
Arjoon-Martins said the pilot immediately advised one of the passengers seated nearby to secure the door in the closed position while reassuring passengers to remain calm as the aircraft was landing shortly.
She stated that the pilot landed the plane safely at Kamarang and the incident was reported to the aviation authorities. “There was no harm to any of the passengers,” she noted, adding that on return to the Ogle International Airport, the aircraft was taken into ASL’s Maintenance Department “where inspections and checks are being carried out to ensure that there is no reoccurrence and the aircraft is back on the line.”
She said it was important for the public to be aware that the aircraft was not a pressurized airplane and therefore the door couldn’t not have been “flung open” in a flight nor “could passengers lives be compromised” because the airflow of an aircraft would keep the door closed.
“Passengers cannot be sucked out of the plane because these airplanes are not pressurized airplanes,” she restated.
