Asiana A321 door opened IN FLIGHT, passenger arrested

An Asiana Airlines passenger has reportedly been arrested after opening the emergency door of an Airbus A321 while in flight.

According to the BBC, all 194 passengers survived the flight, which landed safely at Daegu International Airport on Friday. Local media reported that about eight passengers were taken to hospital with breathing problems.

The L3 emergency exit door is seen here just behind the wing.
The L3 emergency exit door is seen here just behind the wing. Aviation Image Network/Bailey

Flight OZ8124 had taken off from Jeju Island at 2.58am UTC (11.58am local time), and while the exact timeline of events in unclear, it’s thought the incident happened at around 3.45am UTC (12.45pm local time) while the aircraft was on approach to the South Korean city.

The man, in his 30s, was arrested by local police upon landing.

A video circulating on social media shows the gap created by the fully open door – believed to be the L3 emergency exit – and the wind buffeting the rows of seats.

The aircraft involved was HL8256 (c/n 5169), an 11-year-old Airbus A321-200 configured to seat 195 passengers in a single-class layout.