A meth meltdown mid-flight landed one passenger under arrest for attempting to debark somewhere over the Pacific Ocean.

Not for the first time this year, a passenger flying into Korea’s Incheon International Airport in the capital city of Seoul endeavored to open the emergency door after takeoff. In the most recent instance, it just so happened that the woman reportedly showing signs of anxiety had done so 10 hours into a 15-hour trip.

As reported by the Yonhap News Agency, “The 26-year-old was taken into custody by the Incheon International Airport Police Corps after unsuccessfully trying to force open the emergency door of the Korean Air flight traveling from New York to Incheon at 2 a.m. the previous day.”

According to police, no record of mental illness was associated with the woman who had been staying in the Empire State for over six months and was said to have made multiple attempts to open the door before she was ultimately restrained by flight attendants.

While it was initially reported that a reagent test had been conducted to verify she tested positive for illegal drugs, as the police requested the National Forensic Service determine what type and how much the passenger had in her system, Korea JoongAng Daily reported that it had been meth.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Methamphetamine is a highly addictive central nervous system stimulant. Methamphetamine use is associated with a range of health harms, including psychosis and other mental disorders, cardiovascular and renal dysfunction, infectious disease transmission, and overdose.”

The incident aboard the Korean Air flight marked the third instance in 2023 of passengers attempting to open the door in the East Asian nation. As reported by the Yonhap News Agency, just last month a teenager who had been under the influence of meth was sentenced to three years in prison following his arrest in June.

Korea JoongAng Daily noted the 19-year-old had also been traveling to Incheon after departing Cebu. Additionally, a 32-year-old had managed to open an exit roughly 700 feet off the ground during a flight from Jeju to Daegu in May, but his five-year sentence was suspended because of an “urgent need of mental treatment.”

Last month stateside, an off-duty airline pilot was arrested following a “mental breakdown” aboard an Alaskan Airlines flight after reportedly ingesting psychedelic mushrooms for the first time two days prior.

The flight from Everett, Washington to San Francisco, California made an unscheduled landing in Portland, Oregon after he had attempted to both cut the fuel to the engines and open an emergency door. He now faces 83 separate counts of attempted; one for each individual that was aboard the flight.

As for the 26-year-old arrested in Korea, she not only faces up to 10 years in prison for attempting to open the door, she also faces another potential 10 years or a fine of over $76,000 for the drug charges.

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Kevin Haggerty

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Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.

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