South Korea detains passenger after door opened on mid-air Asiana flight: NPR

An Asiana Airlines plane is parked as one of the plane’s doors suddenly opened at Daegu International Airport in Daegu, South Korea, Friday, May 26, 2023.

Yun Kwan-shick/AP

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Yun Kwan-shick/AP

An Asiana Airlines plane is parked as one of the plane’s doors suddenly opened at Daegu International Airport in Daegu, South Korea, Friday, May 26, 2023.

Yun Kwan-shick/AP

SEOUL, South Korea – A passenger opened an emergency exit door on a South Korean flight Friday, causing a gust of air inside the cabin before the plane landed safely , airline and government officials said.

Some people on the Asiana Airlines Airbus A321 tried to prevent the person from opening the door, but it was eventually partially opened, the transport ministry said.

The plane with 194 people was heading for the southeast city of Daegu from the southern island of Jeju. The flight normally lasts about an hour and details of the incident, including how long the door was open, were under investigation, according to Asiana Airlines.

Video footage apparently taken by someone on board and posted on social media shows some passengers’ hair being whipped by air blowing into the cabin through the open door.

Police arrested the unidentified person who opened the door, the airline said. Their motivation was not immediately known.

The passengers included teenage athletes who plan to attend athletic competitions in Ulsan, another city in the southeast.

The incident terrified some passengers but no one was injured, although some passengers were assessed at a hospital, Asiana and Transportation Department officials said.