2023-05-27 19:59:39
The man who opened the emergency door of an Asiana Airlines plane in mid-flight has revealed why he did it, after being detained by authorities.
The plane was carrying nearly 200 passengers when it arrived on the runway of Daegu International Airport on Friday, 240 km south of Seoul, on a local flight. When the plane was about 200 meters above the ground, the man in his 30s, according to police, opened the exit door.
The passenger was taken for questioning by Daegu police, explaining that he was “under stress after recently losing his job.” “He felt the flight was taking longer than he should and he felt suffocated in the cabin,” a Daegu police detective told AFP. “He wanted to get out quickly,” he pointed out.
The passenger is exposed to 10 years in prison for violating aviation safety laws. A video taken by a passenger showed the wind blowing through the open door and some people screaming in surprise.
Several passengers were taken to hospital after suffering breathing difficulties, but there were no serious injuries or damage, according to the Ministry of Transport.
“It was chaos with people near the gate appearing to faint one by one, and flight attendants calling the doctors on board,” a 44-year-old passenger told the Yonhap agency.
“I thought the plane was exploding. I thought I was going to die,” she added.
An official from the Ministry of Transportation told AFP that it was “the first such incident” of which he was aware in the history of Korean aviation. Experts say the South Korean airline industry has a strong safety record.
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