Passenger who sat next to man accused of opening emergency door 'held him down with bare hands'
Passenger who sat next to man accused of opening emergency door 'held him down with bare hands'
A passenger who was sat next to a man who flung open an aeroplane door while it was in the air has said that he believed that he was going to die there and then.
The man who opened the door – who has since been arrested – did so as the plane was landing into Daegu International Airport, having travelled from the South Korean island of Jeju - which is very popular with tourists.
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Lee Yoon-Joon said that he attempted to restrain the man physically after he opened the emergency exit whilst the plane was around 700 feet in the air.
Thankfully, the plane was able to land safely with the door open, but 12 people were taken to hospital with breathing difficulties afterwards.
Lee said that he thought to himself ‘am I going to die?’ during the ordeal.
He features in a video that has been circulating about the incident, which shows the door getting opened before the wind rushes in and starts blowing everything around in the cabin.
Obviously, everyone on board – including a large group of children and teenagers - were terrified and Lee is clearly no different.
The passenger explained that he’d been receiving some bad vibes from the man beforehand, feeling uneasy after he made prolonged eye contact with him during the flight.
After the incident, Asiana Airlines temporarily stopped passengers from sitting near the emergency exit rows.
The 33-year-old man who has been arrested said he felt ‘suffocated’, but he faces 10 years in prison if convicted.
The South Korean transport ministry said: “Police are questioning him jointly with the land and transport ministry over aviation safety laws violations.
“Under these laws, a person who opens a plane door without authorization is subject to a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.”
44-year-old Lee said that the whole thing was ‘chaos’ after the door got opened.
He recounted: “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 while others were running down the aisle in panic.
“I thought the plane was blowing up...I thought I was going to die like this.”
The mum of one of the children on board said: “Children quivered and cried in panic.
“Those sitting near the exit must have been shocked the most.”
A total of 12 passengers went to hospital with breathing difficulties after the plane was safely brought to the ground.
The man responsible later issued an apology to the children, and said that he felt stressed after losing his job.
There is no indication that he was intoxicated at the time of the incident.
Topics: World News, Travel
Tom Wood