Man sentenced to jail for trying to open plane’s emergency door mid-flight
A South Korean court sentenced a man in his 30s to four months in jail, suspended for two years, on Monday (19 Oct) for attempting to open the emergency door of a T’way Air flight last year.
The man, surnamed Park, was indicted on charges of violating South Korea’s Aviation Security Act.
Daegu District Court’s Criminal Division 1 Presiding Judge Kim Dong-seok also ordered Park to perform 80 hours of community service.
Plane was at an altitude of 11,000 metres
On 22 Nov 2025, Park attempted to open the emergency door of a T’way Air passenger plane travelling from Bangkok, Thailand, to Daegu, Korea.
At the time, the aircraft was flying at an altitude of about 11,000 metres between Hong Kong and Taiwan.
According to Joong Ang Daily, Park had grabbed the lever on the emergency door on the aircraft’s right side and lifted it.
Fortunately, the door did not open.
Image courtesy of Ramses Cabello on Unsplash for illustration purposes only
Court said the incident posed no significant risk
When handing down the sentence, the court said Park’s culpability is not light.
However, it also considered Park’s admission of guilt, as well as the limited risk posed by the incident, given that he was unable to open the aircraft door and had made only one attempt to do so.
Since the incident, the South Korean airline T’way Air has since been renamed Trinity Airways.
Source: T’way Air via The Korea Times
Also read: Airport in Germany briefly shuts down after passenger plane triggers false hijacking alert
Airport in Germany briefly shuts down after passenger plane triggers false hijacking alert
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