Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea's second-biggest carrier, said Sunday it has stopped selling certain emergency seats of A321-200 passenger jets following a recent incident in which a passenger opened a door of the same aircraft model just before landing.
Starting Sunday, Asiana Airlines halted the sale of the 26A seat of 11 A321-200s, which can carry 174 passengers, and that of the 31A seat of three A321-200s, which can accommodate 195 passengers, the company said in a statement.
The incident took place on an A321-200 aircraft heading to the city of Daegu, 237 kilometers southeast of Seoul, from the southern Island of Jeju on Friday.
A man sitting in the emergency seat row opened the door when the 195-seat A321-200 aircraft was about 213 meters from the ground right before landing at Daegu International Airport.
None of the 194 people aboard the plane fell out or were hurt in Friday's incident, but 12 panicked passengers showed symptoms of breathing difficulty and some of them were taken to a hospital.
Police sought an arrest warrant for Lee for an alleged violation of the aviation security law, citing the seriousness of his case and the risk of flight.
Under the act, a passenger who operates the doors, emergency exits or devices of an airplane could face a prison term of up to 10 years.
During questioning, the man said he had been under a lot of stress after losing his job recently and that he opened the door because he wanted to get off quickly after feeling suffocated, according to police officials.
Source: Yonhap News Agency