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Delta passenger breaks silence on emergency exit
– ‘Had a few drinks but was not drunk’
The emergency shute that Christopher Satyanand deployed
Months after blowing the emergency exit door on Delta Airlines Flight DL 383, from New York to Georgetown, Christopher Satyanand, the passenger at the centre of the incident, has told this newspaper that he was not drunk when the incident occurred.
He explained that it was his first trip back to Guyana in 25 years, and that he booked his ticket last minute.
He said that he was told that there were no more economy seats available, and as such he paid US$2,000 for his first class seat.
During the flight, he said, he did partake in some of the free alcoholic beverages which were offered. “I had a few drinks, but I was not drunk,” said Satyanand.
When the plane landed in Guyana, he said that he thought there was a separate exit for first class passengers. So he gathered his personal effects and went to the first class door and opened it. “The next thing I know the slide opened up and I fell over,” he said.
He emphasized that he did not know that he was not allowed to exit the plane from that door. However, he said that he figured that since he paid so much for the plane ticket he would have at least been able to leave the plane first.
When he was questioned about his reported singing in the plane, he said that he was listening to music from his mp3 player, and may have been singing in accompaniment.
Satyanand affirmed that following the incident he was banned from travelling with Delta Airlines for life, but said that he was not particularly concerned as “the service was lousy anyways”.
At approximately 7:30 hours on July 3, 2008, Satyanand, disembarking passenger on Delta Airline Flight DL 383, from New York to Georgetown, blew the emergency exit door, sending him down the emergency exit slide and onto the tarmac of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, while other passengers were disembarking the aircraft.
The incident resulted in the aircraft being grounded for 24 hours, and caused passengers scheduled to depart to New York on the same aircraft to be delayed.
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