Horror as passenger opens aeroplane door mid flight

Aircraft doors shouldn’t open during a flight but a passenger on a flight in Korea managed to do just that sparking people to fear for their lives.

A passenger aboard a South Korean flight opened an emergency door moments before the plane landed — sparking caught-on-video chaos and panic among the 194 passengers in the windswept cabin.

The Asiana Airlines Airbus A321 was about to land in Daegu, in the country’s south, after a flight from the southern island of Jeju on Friday when the passenger pulled the emergency exit handle at an altitude of about 700 feet, officials said.

Some of the other passengers tried to prevent the person from reaching the door but it partially opened, sending air whipping throughout the cabin as terrified flyers gripped their armrests, reports the New York Post.

An opened door of an Asiana Airlines plane is seen at Daegu International Airport after it was manually opened by a passenger just 200 metres above the ground before landing. (Photo by YONHAP / AFP)

Among the 194 passengers on-board were several teenage athletes who were on their way to a weekend sporting event in Ulsan, on Korea’s south coast.

At least a dozen people suffered minor injuries in the harrowing incident before the plane landed safely, according to the Transportation Ministry.

Several showed symptoms of breathing difficulty and were taken to a local hospital, news agency Yonhap reported.

“It was chaos with people close to the door appearing to faint one by one and flight attendants calling out for doctors on board through broadcasting,” a passenger told a local news outlet.

“I thought the plane was blowing up. I thought I was going to die like this,” the 44-year-old added.

The plane landed with the door fully open.

One teen’s mother told the news outlet: “Children quivered and cried in panic. Those sitting near the exit must have been shocked the most”.

The suspect, identified only as a man in his 30s, was arrested at Daegu International Airport and confessed to opening the door, but would not say why he did it, CNN reported.

Witnesses told local media that the unhinged passenger also tried to jump out of the plane.

“It is difficult to have a normal conversation with him,” an official said, according to the BBC.

The Asiana aircraft. (Photo by YONHAP / AFP)

Aeroplane doors should not be able to be opened mid flight. They are both locked and the air pressure difference between the cabin and air outside means even if they’re not locked they should be unable to be pushed open.

However, air pressure lessens the closer an aircraft is to the earth meaning it could be possible to open a door.

. The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry said an aviation safety official would check whether there was an abnormality in the plane’s maintenance, CNN reported.

This story appeared in the New York Post and is reproduced with permission.