Man who opened plane door says he wanted to get off quickly: police

National 12:05 May 27, 2023

DAEGU, May 27 (Yonhap) -- A passenger who opened a door of an Asiana Airlines plane just before landing at an airport earlier this week has told police that he opened the door as he felt suffocated and wanted to get off the aircraft quickly, police officials said Saturday.

On Friday, police detained the 30-something man on suspicions of pulling the door lever after the plane's door suddenly opened about 213 meters above ground right before it landed at Daegu International Airport in Daegu, 237 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

During questioning, the man told officials that he had been under a lot of stress after losing his job recently and that he opened the door because he wanted to get off quickly after feeling suffocated, according to police officials.

Police plan to request for an arrest warrant for the man for allegedly violating the aviation security law after additional questioning.

None of the 194 people aboard the plane fell out or were hurt in Friday's incident, but 12 panicked passengers showed symptoms of breathing difficulty and some of them were taken to a hospital.

The plane was on its way to Daegu after departing from the southern holiday island of Jeju.