UPDATE - Man arrested for allegedly opening door mid-air in South Korea flight

UPDATES WITH ARREST OF SUSPECT; REVISES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - A 33-year-old man has been detained for allegedly opening the emergency door of an airplane mid-air, minutes before its scheduled landing in South Korea on Friday.

The plane landed safely at the Daegu International Airport, 237 kilometers (147 miles) southeast of the capital Seoul.

All 194 people on board the plane are safe, though the mid-air opening of the door causes breathing problems for many.

The plane, which flew from Jeju Island to Daegu, was carrying 48 teenage athletes who are attending a national sports event on Saturday in Ulsan.

“When the suspect tried to pull the lever of the exit door, flight attendants were not able to stop him because the plane was about to land,” the Seoul-based Yonhap News reported.

Airport officials noted that the plane landed with an open door.

South Korean police said: “he was not drunk at the time of detention, but remained tight-lipped about why he did so.”

“It is difficult to have a normal conversation with him," an official said. "We will investigate the motive of the crime and punish him."

Passengers heard a “detonating sound about 10 minutes before landing,” according to the report.

"It was chaos with people close to the door appearing to faint one by one and flight attendants calling out for doctors on board through broadcasting while others were running down the aisle in panic," one passenger said.

"I thought the plane was blowing up. I thought I was going to die like this," he said.