A passenger seated next to the man who forced open an emergency door before landing on an Asiana flight has been identified as playing a key role in the subduing process. He was the so-called “Mr. Red Pants,” who appeared in a video taken on board.
The “red pants uncle” was Mr. Lee Yoon-jun (48)토토사이트, the executive vice chairman of the Jeju headquarters of the National Association for Public Safety and Disaster Prevention under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. On the day of the incident, he had traveled to Jeju Island for safety training and was returning to Daegu a day before his birthday.
“The day before my birthday almost became my birthday,” Mr. Lee told Yonhap News Agency. “Suddenly, my hat and headset flew off, so I looked up and the door was open. I felt that he (the shooter) was smiling at me,” he said.
“I was looking at the pictures on my phone, so I didn’t see him actually open the door, but I thought he was in a very bad condition from the beginning of the flight,” he said. “During the flight, he kept making eye contact with me and walking around. When we got to Daegu Airport, the door opened (in mid-air) and he (who was sitting next to me) looked at me, smiling but with a creepy expression that scared me,” she said.
As the plane’s wheels touched down on the runway, he unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up. He then looked back, hanging from the wall next to the door. Lee and a flight attendant called for help, and Lee reached out with his left arm and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, subduing him.
He couldn’t stand up because he was wearing a seatbelt, but he used both hands to forcefully grab the man around the neck. Three or four flight attendants rushed over, and passengers came to help. They dragged him down the aisle inside the plane.
The plane was still running down the runway after landing.
“At the time, no one saw the door open properly, so they didn’t realize it was him and thought he was scared and trying to jump out,” Lee said. “The elementary school students sitting behind him were crying, it was panic,” he added.
“It was heartbreaking to see so many people bad-mouthing the crew,” he said. “The fact that there were no further incidents was due to the crew’s ability to organize the situation. The people who were subduing the perpetrator during the landing process could have been thrown out, but they did a great job of staying safe.”