An Asiana Airlines Airbus A321-200 made an emergency landing in the South Korean city of Daegu after a passenger opened one of the plane's doors minutes before it was due to land.
According to the airline's flight manifest, the plane safely landed at around 12:40 Korean time (03:40 UTC) after it had carried passengers from Jeju Island an hour earlier.
The incident caused panic among the passengers aboard the flight, officials said.
While there were no deaths or serious injuries reported, the Daegu Fire Department reported nine teenagers were taken to the hospital after suffering breathing issues.
An unidentified passenger said the passengers next to the open door were "fainting," which prompted the cabin crew to ask whether there were any doctors on board.
Another passenger shared a video inside the plane showing the moments before it landed.
Authorities investigate how the plane's door was opened
South Korea's transport ministry told Reuters that police had arrested the passenger who opened the door.
Police said the suspect had not yet given any explanation for his actions or if he was under the influence of alcohol at the point of his arrest.
Authorities were also investigating other violations of aviation safety laws and whether Asiana followed protocols to manage emergency exits.
A transport ministry official said there was a possibility of opening a plane's emergency exit when the aircraft was nearing the ground as the pressure inside and outside the cabin were similar.
Upon landing, pictures also showed a deployed escape slide ripped away from the plane.
Sehan University aviation maintenance professor Sohn Myong-hwan said the opening of the door was "particularly dangerous" during landing and takeoff and that someone should have stopped the passenger from opening the door.
Meanwhile, Asiana said the arrested passenger allegedly opened the emergency exit door about 200 meters off the ground.
A representative of the airline also claimed all other passengers and crew were seated with seatbelts fastened because the plane was about to land.
