Cathay passengers lucky they had seat belts on when toilet door fell: Hong Kong experts

Passengers fortunate not to have been hit by toilet door as they were wearing seat belts when fixture fell during take-off, they say

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Images posted online showing a Cathay Pacific staff member holding the door. Photo: Threads

Published: 8:30am, 18 Jul 2024Updated: 5:14pm, 18 Jul 2024

Passengers on a Cathay Pacific Airways flight were lucky not to have been hit by an unhinged toilet door as they were in their seats with seat belts on when the fixture fell during take-off, according to an engineer who said loose screws were likely to be the cause.

Engineering experts shared their comments amid an investigation by Hong Kong’s flag carrier into the cause of the incident on flight 840 as the plane took off on a 16-hour journey bound for New York earlier in the week.

“I believe the incident was due to loose screws, which the airline neglected to check,” said Lo Kok-keung, a retired veteran engineer from Polytechnic University.

“Luckily it happened during take-off when passengers were all seated and no one was near the fallen door.”

The incident came to light after images were posted online showing a female flight attendant in a cabin crew seat on the Airbus A350 with her hand holding down the detached door.

The photos, taken by passengers, were posted with comments saying the incident happened three minutes after take-off.

There is no protocol for handling fixtures falling during take-off, but the priority is to keep the cabin safe, according to Darryl Chan, a former chairman of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers’ aircraft division. Photo: Threads