A Chinese passenger was detained after he opened the emergency exit door while the aircraft waited at the airport.
The man, identified by his surname Chen according to the South China Morning Post, was waiting to disembark the plane with the rest of his fellow passengers.
With a large number of people on board restless to gather their belongings and leave the cabin, the wait at the airport can seem frustrating.
It has been claimed that the wait was too long for Mr Chen who opened the latch because he felt stuffy and he wanted some air.
However, the latch he pulled was the one attached to the emergency exit causing the escape slide to deploy.
Chen was returning from the island of Hainan with airline Lucky Air. The plane had landed at Mianyang Airport when he deployed the escape route.
The report claims that he has since insisted he did not know that it was an escape route.
He explained his reason for opening the door: “Because it was so stuffy, so hot on the plane, I just pushed down on the window handle beside me.”
He added: “When the door fell out, I panicked.”
After the door fell out, the crew alerted the authorities, and Mr Chen was handed over to the Mianyang Airport Public Security Bureau.
Chen was detained for 15 days while a full investigation was carried out.
A statement released by Mianyang Airport stated that Mr Chen deliberately opened the aircraft emergency exit on 27 April.
According to the statement, Chen violated relevant laws and regulations
He has been fined for breaking article 34, the “Public Security Administration Act.”
The article prohibits theft, damage, unauthorised use of aviation facilities or forced entry into the aircraft cockpit.
Chen has been fined over £11,000 (100,000 yuan) for the damage.
However, Mianyang Airport explained this cost could potentially rise if the emergency exit is found to be damaged.
Another passenger, Crystal Padlock, has been fined £350 by Delta Airlines.
Ms Padlock was flying from Paris to the US when the incident occurred. She decided not to eat an apple she was given on board the flight.
She instead put the fruit in her bag yet when she landed in Minneapolis for her connecting flight to Denver; she was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection after her bag was randomly searched.
Upon discovering the apple, Padlock was given a huge on-the-stop fine of £350 ($ 500).
