19-Year-Old Korean Man Tests Positive for Drugs After Attempting to Open Plane Door Mid-Flight
Seoul/ Hong Kong – A 19-year-old Korean man who tried to open a plane door mid-flight has tested positive for drugs following an investigation by the Incheon Airport police.
According to CNN, the man’s “abnormal behavior” prompted the police to conduct a simple drug test with his consent. The man spoke incoherently to media when he was heading to attend his arrest warrant hearing on Tuesday, June 20. “I felt I was being attacked,” he said to reporters who asked why he attempted to open the plane’s door.
The incident occurred on a red-eye flight from Cebu in the Philippines to Seoul, South Korea. The man began “acting strangely” about an hour into the flight, which led officials from Jeju Airlines to move him to the front row of the plane close to the exit door where staff could monitor him. The airline stated that the man also complained of feeling “pressure” on his chest.
After being moved to a different seat, the man suddenly ran towards the emergency door and attempted to open it. However, he was immediately subdued by the crew, who used a lasso rope and tie wraps to keep him controlled for the rest of the flight, according to a Jeju Airlines official. Fortunately, the door remained closed, and the plane was left undamaged. None of the 180 passengers on board were harmed in the incident.
Upon landing at Seoul’s Incheon Airport on Monday, June 19, the passenger was handed over to the police. An arrest warrant was issued for the passenger, who is now accused of violating the Aviation Security Act, according to the police.
The man’s hair and urine samples have been sent to the National Forensics Service for a full analysis on the type and amount of drugs taken. The results are expected within a week or two, the police added.
This incident comes just a month after another individual actually opened a plane door on a Korean carrier. In that incident, a man in his 30s managed to open an aircraft’s emergency door just before landing at Daegu, causing strong gusts of wind to rush through the plane’s cabin as terrified passengers gripped their armrests. In 2016, low-cost Korean Air subsidiary Jin Air was also forced to turn back 40 minutes into a flight after discovering that one of the plane’s doors wasn’t completely shut.
The investigation into the 19-year-old Korean man’s case is ongoing, and authorities are working to determine the motive behind his attempt to open the plane door mid-flight.
