Man who attempted to open door of plane mid-flight tests positive for drugs

Social Affairs

Published: 20 Jun. 2023, 14:57 Updated: 20 Jun. 2023, 19:50

Man who attempted to open door of plane mid-flight tests positive for drugs

The 19 year-old man who attempted to open the emergency door of a Jeju Air 737 in mid-flight while traveling from Cebu to Incheon International Airport on Monday enters Incheon District Court on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

The Incheon District Court approved the detention of a 19-year-old man who tried to open the door of a plane traveling from Cebu to Incheon in mid-air.

In addition to violating the Aviation Security Act for trying to open the door of the plane, he was also suspected of taking drugs.

During the detention review hearing on Tuesday, the judge said detaining the suspect was "unavoidable," adding that the individual was a flight risk.

When asked by reporters if he didn’t really know it was dangerous to try to open the door of a plane, the suspect answered, “I felt like I was being attacked by Korea's powerful class.”

During the investigation, he reportedly asked investigators how many life vests were on the plane and if all of the flight crew would have been fired if he opened the emergency door.

The police said he tested positive in a drug test by the National Forensics Service.

The individual in question, who is a high school dropout, unemployed and lived in Cebu in the Philippines for a month, was arrested at Incheon International Airport on Monday on arrival.

The suspect tried to open the door an hour after the Jeju Air Boeing-737 aircraft carrying 180 passengers took off at 5:30 a.m.

According to Incheon police, the man was moved up to the front row for closer monitoring by the flight staff after showing unusual behavior, including complaints that he felt stuffy.

He then attempted to open the door while shouting about being seated in a different seat to the one he had booked.

The door luckily did not budge due to the differing air pressure inside and outside of the plane.

The teen reportedly also tried to attack the flight crew with a pen.

He was restrained by the crew members and passengers until he was arrested.

he incident occurred a month after a 30-year-old man succeeded in opening the emergency door of an Asiana Airline Airbus A321 when it was descending towards Daegu International Airport.

The door flung open when the plane was just 213 meters above ground.

There were 203 passengers including six crewmembers.

The passengers, especially those sitting next to the opened door, had to face strong winds for roughly 3 minutes before landing on the tarmac.

Although no one was seriously injured, some 60 passengers were elementary and middle school students traveling to Daegu to attend the National Junior Sports Festival.

While there are no fines for violating the Aviation Security Act, including opening the emergency hatch without authority, offenders face up to 10 years in prison.

The opening of the emergency door of the Airbus A321 caused an estimated 640 million won ($499,000) in damage.

BY LEE HO-JEONG, LEE BO-RAM [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]