Passenger held for opening plane door mid-air
SEOUL: A passenger opened an emergency exit on an Asiana Airlines flight as it was preparing to land on Friday, the carrier told AFP, adding that the plane landed safely but several people were hospitalised.
The Airbus A321-200 was carrying nearly 200 passengers as it approached the runway at Daegu International Airport, about 240 kilometres southeast of Seoul, on a domestic flight.
When the plane was still about 200 metres above the ground, a passenger siting near the emergency exit “opened the door manually by touching the lever,” the South Korean carrier’s representative told AFP.
The unexpected opening of the door caused some passengers to have breathing difficulties, and some people were taken to a hospital ater the landing, Asiana said, adding that there were no major injuries or damage.
South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported that nine people were hospitalised.
“The passenger has been taken to the police and is under questioning” to find out why he opened the door, Asiana said.
A short video of the incident was shared by Yonhap.
The footage shows wind ripping through the open door in mid-air, with fabric seat-backs and passengers’ hair flapping wildly as some shout in surprise.
Another video shared on social media showed passengers siting in the emergency exit row next to an open door being buffeted by strong winds.
The two male passengers, who are wearing their seatbelts, can be seen wincing as the wind whips around them, while they clutch the armrests and try and turn away from the door.
No one was hurt in the incident, but nine people were transferred to a nearby hospital ater suffering breathing issues, a Daegu fire department official said.
Eight of those taken to hospital were schoolchildren from Jeju, according to Jeju’s education office.
Authorities were questioning a passenger near an emergency exit row, Asiana officials said.
“Police are investigating the incident ater a passenger who was siting near the emergency exit said he touched its lever,” one of the officials said. The plane was two or three minutes from landing when a male passenger siting next to an emergency door opened a cover and pulled a lever so the door opened about 200 metres above the ground, an Asiana spokesperson said.