Kerala Police arrested Palakkad native Jamsheer Athanikkal on August 6 for allegedly attempting to open the emergency door of a Batik Airlines Kuala Lumpur–Kochi flight while it was airborne. He is currently being interrogated by central and state intelligence agencies, with investigators examining whether the incident was an attempt at sabotage.
Jamsheer was seated in a window seat. While the aircraft was in the air, he tried to open the emergency door by force. He also smashed a window panel. Panic-stricken passengers and cabin crew members restrained him by force until the aircraft landed safely at Kochi.
The flight landed at Kochi at 2.40 a.m. on August 6. Immediately, CISF personnel took him into custody and handed him over to the Nedumbassery Police, as the airport falls under its jurisdiction. Police registered an FIR based on the complaint filed by the Chief of Flight Safety. Ignoring the repeated instructions of the cabin crew, displaying an ungoverned demeanour, smashing the window panel, threatening co-passengers, and attempting to open the emergency door by force are the charges listed in the complaint.
Police registered the case on charges of criminal intimidation, violation of safety rules, and acts pertaining to endangering public safety. Visuals of Jamsheer’s unrestrained conduct on board, recorded by co-passengers, have surfaced on social media.
Jamsheer’s uncontrolled behaviour cannot be construed as an isolated incident. It appears to indicate a sinister design. Since we are living in a period of suicide squads, a proper inquiry should expose the motive behind Jamsheer’s actions. The NIA has also begun its inquiry.
Aviation security experts note that even unsuccessful attempts to tamper with an aircraft or interfere with its safety mechanisms are treated with utmost seriousness worldwide because of the potentially catastrophic consequences. Some of the world’s deadliest aviation terror incidents—including the 1985 Air India Flight 182 (Kanishka) bombing, which killed 329 people, the 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 (Lockerbie) bombing, which claimed 270 lives, the 2001 September 11 (9/11) attacks in the United States that killed nearly 3,000 people, and the 2015 Metrojet Flight 9268 bombing over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, in which 224 people were killed—have led to sweeping changes in global aviation security.
Investigators are therefore expected to examine every aspect of the Kochi incident, including the motive, mental state, and any possible security implications, before arriving at a conclusion.
