(LEAD) Man who opened plane door mid-air appears before court for questioning

National 15:36 May 28, 2023

(ATTN: UPDATES headline, lead; ADDS more info in paras 1-3, photo)

DAEGU, May 28 (Yonhap) -- A passenger who opened an emergency exit door on board an Asiana Airlines flight right before landing last week appeared for questioning at a local court on Sunday.

The 33-year-old man, only identified by his surname Lee, was detained by police Friday on suspicions of opening the door 213 meters above ground just minutes before landing at Daegu International Airport in Daegu, 237 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

After arriving at the Daegu District Court, the suspect said he was "very sorry to the kids" that were on the plane when asked by reporters whether he was aware of the danger of opening the door. The court began questioning him at 2:30 p.m. to determine whether to grant prosecutors' request for an arrest warrant to be issued for him.

The man earlier told police officials that he had been under a lot of stress after losing his job recently and wanted to get out of the plane as he felt suffocated.

A man in his 30s suspected of opening an emergency exit door mid-air on an Asiana Airlines plane appears at the Daegu District Court for questioning on May 28, 2023. The plane carrying 194 passengers landed safely, but some panicked passengers showed symptoms of breathing difficulties and were immediately taken to a hospital. (Yonhap)

The police arrest a man in his 30s at Daegu International Airport, 237 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on May 26, 2023, as he is suspected of opening a door on an Asiana Airlines plane. The door suddenly opened in mid-air at 12:45 p.m., just before the plane landed at the airport. The plane carrying 194 passengers landed safely, but some panicked passengers showed symptoms of breathing difficulties and were immediately taken to a hospital. According to an Asiana official, a passenger sitting near the exit said he touched the door lever. (Yonhap)

The police sought an arrest warrant for Lee for an alleged violation of the aviation security law, citing the seriousness of his case and the risk of flight.

Under the act, a passenger who manipulates the doors, emergency exits or devices of an airplane hindering the security of the flight could face a prison term of up to 10 years.

None of the 194 people aboard, including a group of teenage athletes on their way to a competition, were injured in Friday's incident. Some nine panicked passengers were taken to hospitals after showing symptoms of breathing difficulty.
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