Korean Air Lines heiress questioned by prosecutors over ‘nut rage’ incident on flight

Korean prosecutors questioned Korean Air heiress and former senior executive Cho Hyun-ah on Wednesday over her fit of “nut rage” aboard a plane this month, which sparked a national uproar.

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Cho Hyun-ah, daughter of the airline’s chief executive, arrives in western Seoul to appear before the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board. Photo: EPA

Published: 5:15pm, 17 Dec 2014Updated: 7:31am, 18 Dec 2014

Korean prosecutors questioned Korean Air heiress and former senior executive Cho Hyun-ah on Wednesday over her fit of “nut rage” aboard a plane this month, which sparked a national uproar.

The 40-year-old daughter of the airline’s chief executive forced the chief cabin crew member off a New York-Seoul flight and compelled the taxiing plane to return to the gate after she took exception to being served macadamia nuts she had not asked for - and in a bag, not a bowl.

“I’m sorry,” Cho said feebly as she was mobbed by journalists and photographers when she appeared at the Seoul Western Prosecutors’ Office, keeping her head low and her face covered with shoulder-length hair.

A transportation ministry investigation found that Cho breached aviation safety laws when she screamed and hurled abuse at a flight attendant and the chief purser (or chief flight attendant), Park Chang-jin, during the “nut rage” incident on December 5.

Prosecutors will focus on whether she forced the purser off the flight, ordered the pilot to return the plane to the gate and whether she used violence against the two crew members, according to the Yonhap news agency.

Park has claimed that Cho pushed him into the cockpit door and jabbed him with a service manual.