Originally Posted by
ethernal
Agree. Technically at some point it does become legitimate to mutiny and get off the plane. That point certainly isn't after 8 hours, but that point does exist and would vary depending on circumstances (e.g., being fed, kept warm, allowed to use restrooms, open communication, etc). Ultimately it would fall under a reasonable person standard. I would definitely say that in a hypothetical situation where someone was stuck for much more than 16-24 hours regardless of circumstances (barring imminent and ongoing threat outside of the plane) or 8-12 hours without access to facilities (implying there is urine/feces flowing through passenger compartment) or other minimum health/safety standards that it would be viewed as justified. You might (would) get arrested but charges or tort damages would not be likely to stick. At least not in a common law country like the US. YMMV elsewhere.
I think it depends on the precise circumstances, and in this case 8 hours may have been reasonable, especially if waste facilities were no longer functional, there was no food, or water. My buddy was stuck on a train in an underground tunnel for two hours recently due to someone jumping in front of it. Folks were giving it one more hour to exit the car and take the emergency stairs out. Now he carries provisions whenever he is on a train.