SEOUL: South Korean police on Friday detained a man who opened a door of an Asiana Airlines plane minutes before it was due to land in the city of Daegu, causing panic among the passengers, officials said.
The Airbus A321-200 plane landed safely at around 12:40 p.m. (0340 GMT). It had set off from the holiday island of Jeju an hour earlier, the airport's flight schedule showed.
Nine passengers, all teenagers, were sent to hospital after suffering breathing issues, a Daegu fire department official said.
"I thought the plane was going to explode ... It looked like passengers next to the open door were fainting," an unidentified 44-year-old passenger told the Yonhap News Agency.
The passenger said the cabin crew had made an in-flight announcement asking if there were any doctors on board.
A video aired on television, reported to have been shot by a passenger, showed the moments before the landing, with a door open and wind rushing in as passengers sat nearby.
The transport ministry said in a statement police had taken into custody the man who had opened the door and authorities were investigating violations of aviation safety laws.
A transport ministry official told Reuters that authorities were looking into whether Asiana Airlines had followed protocols to manage emergency exits.
The official said it was possible to open the emergency exit when the aircraft was near the ground as the pressure inside and outside the cabin were similar.
The plane was two or three minutes away from landing when the male passenger sitting next to an emergency exit opened a cover and pulled a lever so the door opened with the plane about 200 metres (656 ft) off the ground, an Asiana spokesperson said.
All onboard were seated with seat belts fastened because the plane was about to land, the spokesperson said.
After the incident, pictures showed an open emergency door near the plane's left wing and a deployed escape slide ripped away from it.
"It is particularly dangerous during landing and takeoff, so someone from the flight staff should have stopped that passenger," said Sohn Myong-hwan, a professor at South Korea's Sehan University's aviation maintenance department.
"To me, it seems difficult for the airline can get away from any potential responsibility here," he said.
Reuters
Fri May 26 2023
Asiana Airlines' Airbus A321 plane, of which a passenger opened a door on a flight shortly before the aircraft landed, is pictured at an airport in Daegu, South Korea May 26, 2023. - Yonhap/via REUTERS
AWANI Ringkas: Projek NTC | Sindiket Dadah
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Kilang cat terbakar, dua sekolah di Meru diarah ditutup
Penutupan dua buah sekolah terlibat iaitu SK Meru dan Sekolah Rendah Agama Meru 2 itu dibuat atas faktor keselamatan.
AWANI 7:45 [29/04/2024] – Meja bulat bersama 50 pemimpin industri dunia | Penggunaan komersial capai 80 peratus
PM yakin Malaysia jadi destinasi pelabur bernilai tinggi.
Kerajaan perkenal program solar untuk pengguna komersial.
Kelas Terapung dilaksana kawasan penduduk kepadatan tinggi.
Laporan Bank Dunia dedah hanya 58 peratus pelajar mahir membaca menjelang akhir darjah 5.
Kerajaan perkenal program solar untuk pengguna komersial.
Kelas Terapung dilaksana kawasan penduduk kepadatan tinggi.
Laporan Bank Dunia dedah hanya 58 peratus pelajar mahir membaca menjelang akhir darjah 5.
Malaysia perlu berani menentang Denmark
Hanya kemenangan menentang Denmark, kuasa besar badminton dunia, dalam aksi penting Kumpulan D Piala Thomas 2024 esok akan membawa Malaysia mendahului carta kedudukan.
Polis tembak kereta mewah bawa dadah lebih RM100,000
Polis terpaksa melepaskan tembakan bagi mengawal keadaan selepas pemandu kenderaan terbabit bertindak agresif dan cuba merempuh anggota polis .
Indonesia sokong pendekatan Malaysia bantu bangun 'peradaban' banduan Indonesia
Penjara bukan semata-mata tempat menghukum tetapi mentransformasikan ia sebagai institusi pendidikan yang memberi peluang kepada penghuni.
Polis siasat dakwaan pusat keagamaan di Nilai lakukan aktiviti mencurigakan
Ketua Polis Negeri Sembilan Datuk Ahmad Dzaffir Mohd Yussof berkata pihaknya menerima laporan berhubung perkara tersebut Jumat lepas.
Semua laluan Malaysia-Thai di daerah Tak Bai, Sungai Golok, Weng ditutup sementara
Jalan ke Sungai Golok dari daerah Tak Bai ditutup untuk pemeriksaan selepas skuad pemusnah bom menemukan paku bertaburan di jalan raya.
Pengwujudan dua negara berdaulat satu penyelesaian
Perdana Menteri Jordan, Bisher Hani Al Khaswneh berkata Israel terus melakukan kesilapan dengan menyerang gaza dan berharap untuk mendapat hasil yang berbeza. Beliau turut berkata pengwujudan dua negara berdaulat adalah satu penyelesaian asas yang enggan difahami dan diterima Israel.
[TERKINI] PETRONAS dagangan jual 16 bilion liter bahan api, perolehan RM37.55 bilion
Ini laporam yangh baharu kami terima.
PETRONAS Dagangan Bhd mencatatkan jumlah jualan melebihi 16 bilion liter bahan api tahun lalu, meningkat lapan peratus tahun ke tahun, manakala perolehan sebanyak RM37.55 bilion.
PETRONAS Dagangan Bhd mencatatkan jumlah jualan melebihi 16 bilion liter bahan api tahun lalu, meningkat lapan peratus tahun ke tahun, manakala perolehan sebanyak RM37.55 bilion.
Korea Selatan: Lelaki buka pintu pesawat kerana mahu cepat turun - Polis
Dalam soal siasat, lelaki itu berkata dia tertekan selepas hilang pekerjaan baru-baru ini, menurut polis.
200 penumpang, anak kapal cemas, pintu kecemasan pesawat terbuka di ruang udara
Penumpang dan anak kapal sebuah pesawat Airbus 321, Asiana Airlines berdepan detik cemas selepas salah seorang penumpang bertindak membuka pintu kecemasan pesawat itu sebelum mendarat di Daegu.
Mavcom lulus penggabungan syarikat penerbangan Korea
MAVCOM mengambil maklum bahawa penggabungan berkenaan bertujuan menyelamatkan syarikat penerbangan tersebut.
Pesawat Asiana Airlines mendarat cemas di Hiroshima, 23 penumpang cedera
Lebih 20 penumpang cedera apabila sebuah pesawat Airbus A320 milik Asiana Airlines membuat pendaratan cemas di sebuah landasan di barat Jepun pada malam Selasa.
Kotak hitam Asiana Airlines dihantar ke Washington
Penyiasat juga akan menemubual penumpang, juruterbang dan anak kapal mengenai nahas yang berlaku pada hari Ahad.
Pesawat terhempas di San Francisco, dua terbunuh
Sebuah pesawat milik Asiana Airlines terhempas ketika mendarat di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa San Francisco.