The Airbus A321 bound for Daegu, South Korea, was still 200 meters above the ground when the chaotic incident unfolded.
Nine people were hospitalized for minor injuries after a man opened an emergency exit on a Asiana Airlines plane in mid-flight, causing panic among the passengers. The man was arrested immediately upon landing.
The incident took place on an Airbus A321-200 jet bound for Daegu, South Korea on Friday afternoon, with one passenger reportedly opening a hatch on the plane’s left side as it descended for its landing, causing wind to rush into the cabin.
Footage of the mishap has circulated online, showing passengers holding on for dear life as the emergency exit hangs open. Some people on board fainted, according to local press reports, while a Daegu fire department official said nine teenagers were brought to the hospital after suffering breathing issues.
While nobody was seriously injured and the plane landed safely, the episode left some passengers rattled, with one telling Yonhap News “I thought the plane was going to explode.”
A passenger sitting on Asiana Airlines records as the plane door is wide open mid-flight.
Nine people were injured and one individual was arrested after the plane landed safely in South Korea. pic.twitter.com/gQpuug5o8U
— MintPress News (@MintPressNews) May 26, 2023
The Asiana Airlines flight carried 48 elementary- and middle-school students traveling for a national sporting competition. “Children quivered and cried in panic,” the mother of one of the students told the outlet. “Those sitting near the exit must have been shocked the most.”
A male passenger in his 30s was arrested for violating aviation safety laws soon after the plane landed at Daegu International Airport. The man reportedly confessed to attempting to force open the emergency door, but did not explain why.
An official from South Korea’s transportation ministry later stated the exit could have been disarmed and opened as the plane lost altitude, when the pressure in and outside of the cabin were about the same. The plane was minutes from landing when the hatch was opened, the airline said, noting it was about 200 meters (656 feet) above the ground.
I suggested swipe cards for Flight Attendants and Flight Crew that would de-activate the locking system of the Emergency Escape Exits, thus preventing tampering with the same during flight by vaccinated passengers who have lost their cognitive abilities due to prions and mRNA biochemical factors.
An ‘Armed Cabin Door’ can also be ‘De-Armed’ by a person whose brain has been eaten away by the prions…
Most aviation regulationss state that an adult needs to be next to a window that is also an emergency exit.
I don’t see any changes via the ICAO, governing aviation entities of the various governments arriving anytime soon…many people have to die first before change is effected.
Some years ago I even drew-up blueprinted plans for a Jackscrew-free stabiliser trim system that employed Rack & Pinion technology, submitted the same to a major Aerospace University in the U.S., and heard absolutely nothing back!
Copies to the FAA also went unanswered!
In the meantime, several crashes and many deaths have resulted from failed or ill-maintained Jackscrews.
& remember; ‘Fly by Wire’ systems can be hacked thru the Flight Management Computers, and fried by EMP’s.
I’ll take push-rods, cables & pulleys, bellcranks and hydraulic assist with electrical DC motor back-ups any day over vulnerable systems that will fail in the event of an EMP caused by a nearby nuclear detonation-provided your aircraft doesn’t melt inflight with other passengers on board…