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Journalism of Courage
In a harrowing incident, an emergency exit door was opened by a passenger onboard the Asiana Airlines Airbus A321 flight on Friday leaving fellow passengers in danger as air blasted inside the plane mid-air. An Associated Press report said 12 people received minor injuries but the plane managed to land safely in South Korea. The person who opened the door – a male in his 30s – was detained by the airport police. A terrifying video doing the rounds on the internet shows air blowing rapidly into the cabin through the open door.
Citing a statement from the South Korean Transportation Ministry, the AP report said the detained individual’s identity and motive were not immediately known. The man was held on suspicion of violating aviation laws on the flight which was headed to Daegu from Jeju.
A BBC report, citing local media, said the flight attendants could not stop the passenger as the plane was about to land. Witnesses told local media that the man had also tried to jump out of the plane after opening the door.
The BBC report quoted the police as saying that the suspect was yet to give any explanation for his actions, nor was he drunk at the time of his arrest. “It is difficult to have a normal conversation with him,” an official said. “We will investigate the motive of the crime and punish him.”
The video shows passengers’ hair being whipped about by the sheer force of the air blowing into the cabin. The person recording the clip, who appears to be a passenger, seemingly finds it difficult to continue documenting the turn of events as the camera shakes violently. Another clip posted by Breaking Aviation News & Videos on Twitter shows passengers near the door gripping the seats tightly.
https://twitter.com/RichardNagarju8/status/1661995443927265281
A 44-year-old passenger told Yonhap, a news agency: “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.” He added, “I thought the plane was blowing up. I thought I was going to die like this.”
Netizens were left shocked by the videos and some described it as a nightmare. A user commented, “New fear unlocked”, while another wrote, “This isn’t supposed to be possible!” Underling the concerns, a third user commented, “This is every flyers’ nightmare come true.”
Those on board the flight included teenaged athletes on their way to a competition. Some passengers suffered severe ear pain and the AP report, citing the Transportation Ministry,
said 12 people were taken to hospitals for treatment. Those injured suffered breathing problems and other minor symptoms, according to emergency officials in Daegu.
