‘Nothing beats a JetBlue passenger’: Woman on a JetBlue flight mistakes the PTU sound for a malfunction. She runs straight to the emergency exit

The Airbus A320’s infamous “barking dog” sound confused a passenger onboard, causing her to panic and believe that the aircraft was malfunctioning. But instead of asking the flight attendants about it, she decided to take matters into her own hands and tried to open the emergency exit.

The incident happened on a JetBlue aircraft and was captured by a fellow passenger onboard. While the aircraft hadn’t taken off when the distressed passenger attempted the dangerous “escape” stunt, she called the plane “broken” and continued to ask for it to be stopped. She also claimed that her boyfriend is a pilot and that the noises weren’t normal, making a fuss that caused concern among other passengers, too.

Thankfully, the woman was unable to open the over-wing emergency exit door and was stopped by other people and the attendants. Her fellow flyers, accustomed to the “barking” sound, also tried to calm her down by explaining that the sound was completely normal. It is a standard sound produced by the Power Transfer Unit (PTU), which is a hydraulic component used to balance pressure on all Airbus A320-family aircraft.

While the noise has long been a signature of Airbus aircraft, new flyers often find it uncomfortable. Recent aircraft accidents have also fueled panic among flyers, easily startling them if anything unusual occurs. Fortunately, the crew handled the situation calmly and efficiently, while reassuring everyone that the flight was safe and functioning. The aircraft also remained on the ground during the incident, and only took off after the woman was seated back safely.

A video of the incident was shared widely across social media, with all sorts of reactions pouring in from users. One user hilariously quipped at the incident with reference to a viral social media sound, saying, “Nothing beats a JetBlue passenger.” Some also applauded the crew for handling the situation perfectly, while others were surprised by the woman’s overreaction: “She has to be the first person in history to react like this to that sound,” they said.