SEOUL, May 26 (Portal) – South Korean police on Friday arrested a man who opened a door of an Asiana Airlines plane (020560.KS) minutes before landing in the city of Daegu, prompting panic among passengers and officials called triggered.
The Airbus A321-200 aircraft landed safely around 12:40 p.m. (03:40 GMT). It had taken off from the holiday island of Jeju an hour earlier, according to the airport’s flight schedule.
Nine passengers, all teenagers, were taken to the hospital with breathing problems, a Daegu Fire Department official said.
“I thought the plane was going to explode… It looked like passengers were passing out next to the open door,” an unidentified 44-year-old passenger told Yonhap news agency.
The passenger said the cabin crew made an announcement during the flight asking if there were any doctors on board.
A televised video reportedly filmed by a passenger showed the moments before landing, with the door open and the wind blowing in, while passengers were seated nearby.
The Department of Transportation said in a statement that police took the man who opened the door into custody and authorities are investigating violations of flight safety laws.
[1/3] Asiana Airlines Airbus A321 plane, with a passenger opening a door just before landing, is pictured at an airport in Daegu, South Korea, May 26, 2023. Yonhap via Portal
A Department of Transportation official told Portal that authorities are investigating whether Asiana Airlines has followed protocols to manage emergency exits.
The official said it was possible to open the emergency exit when the plane was at ground level because the pressure inside and outside the cabin was similar.
The plane was two or three minutes from landing when the male passenger, seated next to an emergency exit, opened a cover and pulled a lever, opening the door while the plane was about 200 meters (656 feet) overhead floor, said an Asiana spokesman.
Everyone on board was seated with their seat belts fastened as the plane was about to land, the spokesman said.
After the incident, images showed an open emergency door near the plane’s left wing and an evacuation slide torn from it.
“It’s particularly dangerous during landing and takeoff, so someone from the flight crew should have stopped that passenger,” said Sohn Myong-hwan, a professor at the Department of Aviation Maintenance at South Korea’s Sehan University.
“It seems to me that it is difficult for the airline to evade any possible responsibility here,” he said.
Reporting by Ju-min Park, Soo-hyang Choi, Hyunsu Yim; Edited by Gerry Doyle and Jason Neely
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