Passengers opened the emergency door on an Asiana Airlines Airbus A321 about 213 meters (700 feet) above the ground.
A passenger on an Asiana Airlines flight who opened the emergency exit door as the plane landed in South Korea told police he did so because he felt unwell and wanted to get off the plane quickly, local media reported.
The man in his 30s opened the emergency door when the Airbus A321 landed at Daegu International Airport on Friday, about 213 meters (700 feet) above the ground, causing panic on board.
“period [police] When questioned, the man told officials that he was stressed after losing his job recently and he opened the door because he wanted to get out of the car as soon as possible after feeling suffocated,” South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported on Saturday.
Police plan to charge the unidentified man with violating the country’s aviation security law, Yonhap news agency reported.
Nine passengers were taken to hospital with breathing difficulties following the incident, which left many passengers terrified. All were released from the hospital about two hours later, a fire department official said.
Video footage apparently filmed by crew members and posted on social media showed passengers’ hair being ruffled by the air rushing into the cabin as the emergency doors opened.
Kim Sung-hyun, a former Korean Air cabin safety officer, said that as far as he knew, the case was unprecedented, but the passenger opened the emergency exit without authorization while the plane remained on the ground.
A South Korean transport ministry official said yesterday that emergency exits could be opened at or near the ground because the pressure inside and outside the cabin is similar.
