Witnesses told local media that the man also tried to jump from the plane after the door opened.
The Airbus A321-200 jet took off from the country’s Jeju Island at around 11:45 p.m. local time on Friday. About an hour later, a passenger opened the door of the plane while it was 250 meters above the ground while landing in Daegu city.
A man has been detained for allegedly opening the door of an Asiana Airlines flight as it landed in Daegu, South Korea.
The 30-year-old man was arrested upon landing, Yonhap news agency said. However, the plane landed safely at Daegu International Airport with the doors open, authorities said.
According to Asiana Airlines, there were a total of 200 people on the plane, including 194 passengers. School students were also among the passengers. Although it was possible to land safely, some passengers fainted as the plane was flying with the doors open. Moreover, many people start having shortness of breath. The Daegu Fire Department said 12 people suffered minor injuries from hyperventilation. Nine of them were sent to Daegu Hospital.
Meanwhile, according to the police, it is not yet known why the suspect did this. He was not even drunk at the time of arrest.
“It has become difficult to have a normal conversation with him. We will investigate his motive for this crime and punish him accordingly,” an official said.
The video of this incident has already spread on social media. In one such video, it can be seen that the air is entering at high speed through the open door of the plane.
Witnesses told local media that the man also tried to jump from the plane after the door opened.
A 44-year-old passenger told Yonhap, “On the one hand, the passengers near the door were fainting, and on the other hand, the flight attendants were looking for a doctor on the flight through the broadcast. All in all, chaos ensued.”
“I thought the plane was exploding. I thought I might die like this,” he added.
Aviation expert Geoffrey Thomas of Airline Ratings described the incident as ‘very strange’.
“Technically, it’s not possible to open this door on the plane,” he told CNN. Thomas also said that an A321 Airbus has a landing speed of about 150 knots, or 172 miles per hour.
He said, “It seems technically impossible for the door to open over such high speed wind pressure. But somehow it happened.”
South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said an aviation safety supervisor was sent to the scene to check for any abnormalities in the plane’s maintenance.
