The door of an Asiana Airlines jet opened as it was coming into land in Daegu, South Korea, on Friday afternoon, leaving wind whipping through the plane’s cabin as terrified passengers gripped their armrests, video of the incident shows.
An airline official said a man in his 30s who was sitting in the emergency seat seemed to have opened the door when the aircraft was about 700 feet (213 meters) above the ground and about two to three minutes from landing in the city 150 miles (240 kilometres) south of Seoul.
However, company officials told CNN the plane had landed safely. Local police said a man has been arrested.
A total of 200 people were on board, including 194 passengers, according to Asiana Airlines.
According to the Daegu Fire Department, 12 people suffered minor injuries from hyperventilation and nine of them have been sent to hospitals in Daegu.
The aircraft was identified on the Flightradar 24 tracking website as an Airbus 321.
The jet was on a flight from Jeju island, off South Korea’s southern coast, to Daegu. (CNN)
Door of Asiana Airlines plane opens in mid-air just before landing in South Korea; 9 people taken to hospital with breathing difficulties pic.twitter.com/rUI6LTRihj
— BNO News (@BNONews) May 26, 2023
