Passenger opens plane door mid-air on flight in South Korea, 9 hospitalized
Written by Aniketh Kumar on May 27, 2023
Incident occurs minutes before landing; passenger detained by police but motive for opening the door on the Asiana flight is not clear
SEOUL, South Korea — A passenger opened an emergency exit on an Asiana Airlines flight as it was preparing to land Friday, the carrier told AFP, adding that the plane landed safely but several people were hospitalized.
The Airbus A321-200 was carrying nearly 200 passengers as it approached the runway at Daegu International Airport, about 240 kilometers (149 miles) southeast of Seoul, on a domestic flight.
When the plane was still about 200 meters (650 feet) above the ground, a passenger sitting 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 after the landing, Asiana said, adding that there were no major injuries or damage.
South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported that nine people were hospitalized.“The passenger has been taken to the police and is under questioning” to find out why they opened the door, Asiana said.
