Passenger who opened emergency door during flight felt like he was suffocating | Abroad

During a police interview, the 33-year-old suspect, whose last name is Lee, indicated that he was having difficulty breathing. He wanted to get out as soon as possible and so opened the plane door before the plane had landed.

Twelve passengers were slightly injured. The Asiana Airlines domestic scheduled flight landed in Daegu. There were two hundred people on board. Victims say the air blew very hard when the emergency door opened. The panic was great. Some say they have had severe pain in the ears. A video of the incident has gone viral.

Due to atmospheric pressure, it should not be possible to open a door during flight. Asiana Airlines thinks it worked here because the landing had already started. According to the Ministry of Transport, the plane was flying at an altitude of 213 meters when the man pulled on the handle. The suspect was officially arrested on Sunday. He is suspected of violating aviation law. It states that passengers are not allowed to touch the aircraft door, emergency door and any other equipment.

Watch what other passengers filmed here. The text continues below the video.

Daegu police said they could allow 20 days to investigate before Lee was charged. If convicted, he faces up to ten years in prison.

According to police, the suspect has now given an explanation for his bizarre gesture. He was reportedly under a lot of stress because he was recently fired. “I wanted to get out as soon as possible,” he later told officers. Lee felt he was choking, so he pulled the emergency door handle. His seat was right there.

As a precautionary measure, Asiana Airlines will leave the rows next to the emergency exit empty for the time being. There are therefore slightly fewer seats available per flight.

Joris Melkert, assistant professor of aerospace engineering at TU Delft, explains how this could have happened.