Terror on Flight KE123
Channel: Daily Insight
Date: 2017-10-10

In 2014, I had been staying with my in-laws in China. We flew into Korea and spent the night there in some nice accommodation. The next day, we made our way to Incheon International Airport and boarded the ill-fated Flight KE123.

Just to be clear, KE123 made it to its destination. It’s what happened on-board that has intensified my fear of flying.

In 2014, there were a couple of major air disasters. Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 had mysteriously gone missing, and another of their aircraft, Flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine. Understandably, we were already on edge when we boarded our flight.

I was with my son, who was two years old at the time, and my wife. My boy was sitting between us in the middle section. The flight started out well and we were over halfway when something strange happened.

It was a bit after midnight, so most passengers were sleeping. I was dozing and then suddenly we hit some turbulence. It wasn’t too severe, but as we all know, when things happen at night, they tend to feel a lot worse.

About five minutes into the turbulence, an arm from the passenger behind me fell onto my thigh. I turned around and looked between the seats to see a Korean gentlemen passed out. I touched his arm to try to rouse him, but there was no response. I shook his arm a little bit harder, but still no response.

I pressed the button to call the flight attendant and she quickly made her way down the aisle ...

I started to worry that he had died and I saw the expression on the flight attendant’s face change drastically ...

Passengers were starting to wake due to the ongoing turbulence and the commotion taking place near me at the back of the plane ...

The doctor raced off, I’m not sure what for – possibly to get some medical supplies. A couple of moments later, the man suddenly woke up with a loud gasp for air ...

At this point, things took a turn for the worse. He suddenly punched the flight attendant straight in the face causing her to fall to the floor ...

Naturally, passengers were starting to scream at this point. The whole plane was in an uproar. The flight attendants were doing their best, but ultimately, they were being overpowered ...

It was a bit of a horror how. There were bodies strewn across the aisle ...

Soon after, a strong-looking Korean man, either an off-duty police officer, or an on-board security officer came charging down the aisle. He asked the rugby players to dismount and took control of the man. The doctor came back and started treating the flight attendants. Of course, the plane was still rocking about in the turbulent weather.

Two flight attendants, the security officer, and the doctor had seated the man a couple of rows behind me. They were all standing around him making sure he wouldn’t doing anything stupid. Passengers nearby started to complain, “You’re not going to keep him here, are you?”, “We’ve got small children on-board. We don’t want him sitting near us!”. The staff decided to move the man to the front of the plane, in first-class I believe – it was the only place there were no passengers.

There was another six hours of flight before we arrived in Brisbane. The staff were standing around the man the entire time. Understandably, I couldn’t sleep for the rest of the journey, and probably many passengers were in the same boat.

Finally we arrived at Brisbane, but then the captain announced that we’d all have to stay on the plane while an investigation was carried out. I was given a pen and paper and was told to write a witness statement with all my details. The Australian Federal Police boarded and came and spoke with me and a few other passengers. They arrested the man and took him out in handcuffs. All in all, it took a bit over an hour to complete.

And that’s what happened on Flight KE123. I was never contacted again regarding this issue, but I’ve had medical people try to explain what happened. Some say that he may have been diabetic and had low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). This can result in violent outbursts.

Anyway, this event has had a long-lasting effect on me. I just don’t want to board a plane any more. As I’ve mentioned before, the news really plays up negative events and so air disasters are always talked about in great detail.

Maybe one day, I’ll gain the courage to board a plane again, but until then, I’m content just being a filthy landlubber.

RELATED LINKS
Mystery Remains: What happened to flight MH370? – https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2100795/flight-mh37-malaysia-airlines-final-report-conspiracy-news/
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_Airlines_Flight_17
Are People With Diabetes Prone to Violence? – https://asweetlife.org/are-people-with-diabetes-prone-to-violence/

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