Passenger sets fire in plane bathroom during flight in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – An unexpected situation occurred yesterday, May 27, during Gol Airlines flight G3-1471, from Belo Horizonte (MG) to Guarulhos (SP): a passenger – whose name has not been disclosed – locked himself in the toilet of a Boeing 737 MAX 8 to burn papers and was “exposed” by the aircraft’s smoke detector.

To curb the incident, the crew was forced to open the door from the outside (this is one of the reasons why there are external locks on aircraft toilets) and immobilized the offender with the help of another traveler who volunteered. The pilots informed traffic control and requested help from the ground crew.

“Our crew, trained in non-violent restraint techniques, was able to detain the man with the voluntary help of a passenger. The Federal Police and the airport Medical Center were called by the flight captain and acted promptly after landing,” the airline said in a statement.

The passenger who caused the incident was met by the Federal Police and given medical assistance, and then taken to the police station – where the case was processed. According to Guarulhos Airport, landing was not affected and none of the day’s airline operations were disrupted by the incident.

Article 261 of the Criminal Code (Law 2848/40) states that “endangering a ship or aircraft, one’s own or another’s, or committing any act aimed at preventing or hindering maritime, river, or air navigation” is punishable by imprisonment of up to 5 years – and, if no intent is involved, up to 2 years.