Near DISASTER as passenger opens plane door three minutes before landing

Like something from a Hollywood disaster movie, terrified passengers on board a flight had a lucky escape as a man suddenly decided to open the plane door.

At around 12:45 pm (local time) on Friday, May 26, an Asiana Airlines plane was coming in to land at Daegu International Airport, South Korea, according to Yonhap News Agency.

The Airbus A321 was preparing to land at Daegu, which lies 237 kilometres from the capital Seoul, when a man in his 30s, decided to get up from his seat and open the door, while the aircraft was approximately 200 metres up in the air.

There were 194 people on board including 48 schoolchildren who were due to compete in a nationwide sports event in nearby Ulsan, scheduled for Saturday, May 27.

Nine passengers were taken to hospital suffering from breathing difficulties, eight of them were children. A spokesperson from the Daegu emergency services said this could be attributed to people hyperventilating due to the stressful incident.

A mother of one of the children commented: ‘Children quivered and cried in panic. Those sitting near the exit must have been shocked the most.’

Luckily the plane landed shortly afterwards with the door still open.

Police have arrested a male passenger in his 30s on suspicion of attempting to force the door open while the plane was preparing to land. The reasons for the man’s behaviour are still unknown at this time.