The suspect was said to have sat in a cabin crew seat without permission – and when he was ordered to leave, he grabbed the door latch and allegedly tried to open it
Passenger attempts to open emergency door on flight to South Korea
This is the terrifying moment a passenger allegedly tried to open the emergency door of a plane mid-flight before being tackled by the crew.
The suspect, who has not been named, reportedly sat in a cabin crew seat without permission while on Korean Air flight KE658 from Bangkok, Thailand, to Incheon, South Korea, on November 7. When an air hostess ordered him to leave, he allegedly threatened her, despite being warned that he may have been violating Korea’s Aviation Security Act.
Footage filmed on board shows flight attendants scrambling to stop the man as he grabbed the door latch and tried to open it. The crew were able to restrain him and he was taken to a separate area to calm down, according to reports.
The Airbus A330-300 with 238 passengers onboard landed without delays at the Incheon International Airport in Seoul at around 4.45am. The man was handed over to the Incheon International Airport Police for investigation.
Korean Air said in a statement: ‘The incident was managed according to our established security protocols, to prioritise passenger safety and operational integrity. While the situation was successfully contained, we will cooperate with relevant authorities in the investigation of this matter.
“Korean Air maintains a zero-tolerance approach to behaviours that compromise aviation safety and will continue to respond decisively to such incidents.” In June 2023, a teenage passenger sparked panic on a Jeju Airlines flight from Cebu, the Philippines, to Seoul, South Korea, when he also tried to open the emergency door of the plane.
The South Korean man, aged 19, reportedly dashed to open the door but was quickly subdued by the crew “using a lasso”. They allegedly bound him with the rope and tie wraps and moved him to the front of the plane to be observed. He reportedly tested positive for drugs upon landing. He was handed over to the police at the Incheon International Airport.
Last week, a passenger caused panic on a Copa Airlines plane after allegedly attempting to open the emergency door mid-flight. Footage of the incident showed a man being restrained in a headlock while a crew member tried to attach plastic handcuffs to his wrists.
Two passengers – Marcelo Ribeiro and Everaldo Torres – reportedly helped to restrain the man, according to local reports. Marcelo attempted to reason with the passenger when he noticed him trying to open the door, which ignited a brawl. A photo shared showed the suspect sitting in his seat with what appeared to be blood around his lips and nose, while one man held his shoulder and another stood in front of him, supposedly to stop him from getting up again.
The flight departed from Brasilia, Brazil and was headed to the Tocumen International Airport in Panama City. The pilot required a few extra minutes to land the aircraft but it descended safely. Upon arriving at the airport, Panamanian authorities arrested the suspect.