Passenger Confuses Emergency Exit Door for Bathroom In-Flight in Israel

Israel’s Channel 2 news reported that a passenger who was traveling from Eilat to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport today attempted to open the door of the aircraft while it was in the air.  According to the news reports, the flight crew stated that the passenger had mistakenly believed that the exit row door was actually the entrance to the bathroom!

According to a passenger on the flight:

“I heard a scream and turned my head where I saw one of the passengers on board attempting to open an emergency exit door.  He was in a panic as other passengers began yelling ‘what are you doing’?  That’s when the the flight crew pull him aside and began to interrogate him.”

The flight landed after the incident without any further incident.  However, the strange nature of the whole event leads me to wonder:

1. Why did the people sitting in the exit row let the passenger walk in front of them without asking any questions?
2. How would you respond to the situation if you were a passenger in the exit row?
3. What would have happened if this was an evening flight, with people sleeping, and someone had ‘successfully’ opened the exit door by accident?