Asiana Airlines: Passenger arrested for opening plane door during South Korea flight
- Published
Watch: Inside cabin as plane door opened mid-flight
A man has been arrested for opening a door of an Asiana Airlines flight as it was landing in South Korea.
All 194 passengers survived the flight, which landed safely but with its door still open at Daegu International Airport on Friday.
Some passengers fainted while others had breathing problems and were taken to hospital, local media reported.
The man in his 30s said he was feeling suffocated and wanted to get off quickly, Yonhap news agency reported.
Police said the man claimed during questioning that he was stressed after losing his job, according to the report.
"He is mentally struggling right now and losing his footing. We could not investigate him properly due to his state," a local police officer told reporters, adding that the man could not be asked any questions as he was not "in a normal state".
Flight OZ8124, an Airbus A321-200 jet, had taken off from Jeju Island on Friday about 11:45 local time (03:45 GMT).
As it was landing about an hour later, a male passenger opened the emergency door while the plane was still 250m from ground.
A passenger's video shared on social media shows the gap in the left hand side of the plane and winds buffeting rows of seated passengers.
Flight attendants had not been able to stop him because the plane was about to land, witnesses recounted to local media.
They said the man had also tried to jump out of the plane after opening the door.
Passengers have described the panic on board.
"It was chaos with people close to the door appearing to faint one by one and flight attendants calling out for doctors on board through broadcasting," one 44-year-old passenger told Yonhap.
"I thought the plane was blowing up. I thought I was going to die like this," he added.
The Asiana Airlines plane landed at Daegu with its door open
Several school age children had also been on board, on their way to a weekend sporting event.
The mother of one of the students told Yonhap: "The children were shaking, crying, and frightened."
