On February 7, 2024, a Canadian citizen exhibited panicked behavior before the takeoff of Thai Airways flight TG121. According to local media reports, the passenger suffered a panic attack and demanded that flight attendants immediately open an exit so that he could leave the plane.

The Airbus A321 was actually supposed to fly from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. But that didn't happen at first because a 40-year-old lost his nerve and wanted to get off the plane while the medium-haul jet was on its way to the runway. He managed to force open a door on the plane. This also triggered the associated emergency slide.

The L1 entrance, which is located near the cockpit, was affected. According to local media reports, the man did not pose any criminal threat. Rather, it was probably an exceptional psychological situation. He initially loudly asked the flight attendants to open the door, but did not make any threats. When they didn't comply with his demands, he pushed door L1 open with all his might. This also triggered the emergency slide.

The “unruly PAX” then wanted to leave the Airbus A321 via the emergency slide, but a passenger and a flight attendant were able to prevent him from doing so. He was detained but is said to have offered no resistance. The police then took over the confused man. During his first interrogation, he is said to have claimed that he was being followed by a mysterious underground organization and that he was afraid that he would be attacked on this flight. According to his own information, he works professionally as an IT technician in Vancouver, Canada.

The responsible public prosecutor's office ordered pre-trial detention and at the same time ordered appropriate psychiatric treatment. A specialist report should also be obtained, which should provide information about the actual mental state and subsequently also the criminal liability. It was also announced that his blood would be tested for possible drug abuse. However, the police and public prosecutor's office have not yet published any results in this regard.

The incident was annoying for Thai Airways because the Airbus A321 could initially no longer be used commercially. Technicians had to restore the emergency slide to the specified condition. After about three hours, the repairs and checks were completed, so that the affected aircraft was able to take off towards Bangkok.