A foul-tempered flight from Muscat to Mumbai took a detour to a police station on Tuesday morning, after a 51-year-old passenger, Balakrishna Rajayan, indulged in a forbidden cigarette break in the plane's lavatory.
Rajayan, from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, allegedly sparked up mid-air on board Vistara flight UK234, which departed Muscat late Monday night. The brazen act went unnoticed by fellow passengers but not by the aircraft's watchful smoke detectors.
Alert to the acrid signature, the pilot swiftly informed the cabin crew who, upon investigation, discovered the incriminating evidence - a smoldering cigarette butt abandoned in the washbasin.
The descent into Mumbai wasn't the only landing Rajayan had to face. Upon touching down at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, security officials were waiting to escort him to their offices.
There, the charade crumbled, and Rajayan reportedly confessed to his airborne escapade, even producing the matchbox that ignited the incident.
Unimpressed by his candor, security officials wasted no time in handing Rajayan over to the Sahar police. A complaint was filed, accusing him of jeopardizing the safety of all onboard by deliberately flouting safety regulations.
Rajayan now faces charges under Section 336 of the Indian Penal Code (endangering life or personal safety of others) and Section 25 of the Aircraft Rules.
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