Man opened emergency exit in the middle of flight: ‘I wanted to get out as soon as possible’

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There are shocking recordings: a passenger (33) suddenly opens the door of an airplane – while it was still in the air. At the time, the machine was on its way to landing and was still 213 meters above the ground.

The aircraft was able to land a few minutes later with the cabin door open. There were a total of 200 people on board, including 194 passengers. Twelve of them suffered minor injuries from hyperventilation, nine had to be taken to hospital.

Now it is clear: after the bizarre action, the man’s neighbor and a flight attendant pulled the man away from the door, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reports. During the subsequent interrogation by the South Korean authorities, the man allegedly said that he was choking. “I just wanted to leave as soon as possible,” the Korean explains to the TV channel Abc7.

“We Thought We Were Dying”

According to his neighbour, the 33-year-old is “someone who exudes a bad temper”. South Korean police said after the incident that the detainee was “mentally ill”. He reportedly recently lost his job and was under great stress.

The incident was traumatizing for the passengers. After the wind started to blow like crazy in the plane, panic broke out in the Airbus A321. “We thought we were going to die,” one traveler told Yonhap.

Emergency exit seats are no longer occupied

Pilot Chesley Sullenberger, 72, who crashed an A-321 into the Hudson River, USA, in 2009, told ABCNews: “In such a situation, the air rushes right past the plane. At this speed, about 160 miles per hour , that would be the speed of a Category 5 hurricane.”

The man faces a ten-year prison sentence. He allegedly told local reporters that he felt really sorry for the children on board. The airline responded promptly to the incident: until further notice, the seats right next to the emergency exits are no longer occupied. (A)

Source: Blick