The Boeing 737-800 jet, carrying 163 passengers to Busan, South Korea, was forced to make an emergency return to the Philippines when one of the plane’s doors was found to be leaking air shortly after takeoff. “How painful must it have been for children?” said Lee Sang-gyu, South Korean passenger.
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Speaking once he had disembarked, the passenger added: ‘The flight turned back about 30 minutes after take-off because the gap in the door was big enough to put a finger in it.
The passenger plane was at an altitude of 10,000 feet when the cabin door was found open and one passenger thought he was going to die.
The plane safely landed in Cebu before passengers were provided with accommodation and rebooked on later flights.
Generously, Jin Air doled out $118.20 to each passenger as compensation for nearly sending them plunging to a terrifying death from 3000m above sea level.
The airline said an initial investigation uncovered no defects in the jet.
A Jin Air official admitted that the sounds might have been caused by the plane’s front door not being completely closed.
Video filmed on board the flight, which was operated by South Korean budget airline Jin Air, showed a visible gap between the door and door frame, and a odd noise could be heard.
The South Korean transport ministry said it is also investigating the incident.
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South Korea now has six licensed budget airlines operating in an increasingly crowded market.
