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Man who opened plane door says he was stressed: police

<p><strong>STRESSED.</strong> Police arrest a man in his 30s at Daegu International Airport, 237 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on May 26, 2023, as he is suspected of opening a door on an Asiana Airlines plane. The man said he was into a lot of stress after losing a job. <em>(Yonhap)</em></p>

STRESSED. Police arrest a man in his 30s at Daegu International Airport, 237 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on May 26, 2023, as he is suspected of opening a door on an Asiana Airlines plane. The man said he was into a lot of stress after losing a job. (Yonhap)

DAEGU – A passenger who opened a door of an Asiana Airlines plane just before landing at an airport earlier this week has told police that he opened the door as he felt suffocated and wanted to get off the aircraft quickly, police officials said Saturday.

On Friday, police detained the 30-something man for allegedly pulling the door lever after the plane's door suddenly opened about 213 meters above ground right before it landed at the Daegu International Airport in Daegu, 237 km. southeast of Seoul.

During questioning, the man told officials that he had been under a lot of stress after losing his job recently and that he opened the door because he wanted to get off quickly after feeling suffocated, according to police officials.

Police plan to request an arrest warrant for the man for allegedly violating the aviation security law after additional questioning.

None of the 194 people aboard the plane fell out or were hurt in Friday's incident, but 12 panicked passengers showed symptoms of breathing difficulty, and some of them were taken to a hospital.

The plane was on its way to Daegu after departing from the southern holiday island of Jeju. (Yonhap)

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