Children screamed and cried, and passengers heard a loud bang, after a man opened the emergency exit door during a flight on Friday, according to local reports.
The Asiana Airlines Airbus A321 was travelling from Jeju Island to Daegu International Airport in South Korea, carrying 194 passengers, CNN reported.
Just a few minutes before the plane landed, when it was about 700 feet above the ground, a passenger got up and opened the emergency exit door, an airline representative told CNN.
High winds filled the cabin, and a group of children travelling to an athletic competition began to scream and cry, according to South Korean outlet KBS News. There were about 60 children and coaches aboard the aircraft, KBS News reported.
"The children were very surprised, screamed, cried and quivered," one of the kids' teachers told KBS News.
As soon as the door opened, passengers also heard a loud bang throughout the plane, caused from the immense difference in air pressures between the pressurized cabin and the air outside, KBS News reported.
The plane was able to land safely, but 12 people were hospitalized with minor injuries from hyperventilation, the Daegu Fire Department told CNN. The man who opened the emergency exit door was arrested upon landing.
Asiana Airlines, the Daegu Fire Department, and South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport have not responded to Insider's request for comment.
