The culprit behind the Asiana Airlines plane door fiasco has been brought to trial and ordered to pay damages for the incident.
On May 25, KST, an Asiana flight from Jeju-do to Daegu left passengers shocked when its doors opened mid-flight. The airplane’s emergency exit suddenly opened while preparing to land, and the aircraft was at an approximate height of 700-800 feet. Several passengers had reportedly fainted from fear. Some of them, including elementary school students, had to be taken to the hospital immediately after landing as they experienced breathing troubles.
Door of Asiana Airlines plane opens in mid-air just before landing in South Korea; 9 people taken to hospital with breathing difficulties pic.twitter.com/rUI6LTRihj
— BNO News (@BNONews) May 26, 2023
Asiana Airlines immediately launched a probe into the matter, and a 32-year-old man, Mr. A, was discovered to be the one behind the fiasco. During questioning, the man told officials he opened the emergency exit because “he felt suffocated and wanted to get off the aircraft quickly.”
The suspect was brought to trial on September 5 at the Daegu District Court’s Civil Division 12. Judge Chae Seong Ho ordered him to pay ₩727 million KRW (about $ 545,000 USD) in damages to the airline. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, the estimated cost of repairs for the aircraft was around [kwr] 640 million [/krw].
Meanwhile, the prosecution has appealed the first trial’s ruling and filed additional charges against Mr.A for traumatizing passengers with his stunt.
Source: SBS News
