Regarding the incident in which a passenger opened the emergency exit door of an Asiana Airlines passenger plane in flight, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport estimated the repair cost of the aircraft at about 6 million won.

In addition, according to the "Interim Investigation Results of the Illegal Opening of Asiana Airlines' Emergency Exit Exit" obtained from the Ministry of Land Affairs by the office of Rep. Chang Cheol-min of the Democratic Party of Korea (MDP) on the 4th, the airliner in which the incident occurred suffered damage to three parts, including the emergency exit door and the slide, and the amount of damage was estimated as follows.

Temporary repairs were made at Daegu Airport immediately after the incident, and it was moved to Incheon on the 8th of last month and is undergoing repairs.

Apart from the Ministry of Homeland Affairs, Asiana Airlines is also reportedly estimating its own damages.

According to an investigation by the Ministry of Land, the incident that occurred on Asiana Airlines Flight 3 from Jeju to Daegu at 30:26 noon on the 12th of last month occurred when a passenger, Mr. Lee Mo (37), illegally opened the emergency exit door.

As the aircraft landed and was gliding on the ground, Mr. Lee unbuckled his belt and attempted to jump, which was stopped by crew and passengers.

Mr. Lee was sitting in the seat right in front of the emergency exit door.

Mr. Lee was also seen by a doctor who was on board at the time.

As the doctor stepped off the plane, he made a comment to the steward to the effect that "Mr. A was angry that his flight had arrived late and opened the door."

After getting off the plane, Mr. Lee, who was outside the concourse, confessed to the crime during a conversation with the Asiana Airlines ground staff who accompanied him.

The police call was made at around 8124:33 p.m., more than 30 minutes after the aircraft landed.

After being questioned by the police, Mr. Lee was detained on 1 July on suspicion of violating the Aviation Security Act and damaging property.

Apart from the investigative agency, the Ministry of Land Affairs has obtained on-site closed-circuit (CC) TV and is investigating whether Asiana Airlines and the captain and crew of the flight violated the Aviation Security Act.

Regarding the reason why it was possible to open the door during the flight, the Ministry of Land Affairs said, "If the internal and external pressure difference is low, the emergency exit can be operated. The seat in question was located in close proximity to the emergency exit, which allowed for accidental operation while seated."

By design, some aircraft, such as the B13, have automatic emergency exit locks after takeoff, but the A2 aircraft where the incident occurred does not, he added.

Accordingly, in order to prevent similar incidents and accidents, the Ministry of Homeland Affairs notified the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the aircraft manufacturing authorities, and asked them to review the idea of activating a warning sound when the emergency exit lever cover is opened during flight.

In addition, since seats that are very close to emergency exits are structures that allow emergency exit lever to be operated even with seat belts on, we also requested a review of strengthening seat installation standards.

(Photo = Provided by readers, Yonhap News)