A 29-year-old Japanese woman was found hanged inside the toilet of a Korean Air flight as the plane was preparing to land at Incheon airport near Seoul, the airline said on May 29.

When the passenger failed to return to her seat, a flight attendant checked the toilet where she found the woman hanging from the wall with a scarf around her neck.

She did not respond to emergency medical procedures performed on the plane and was pronounced dead on arrival in hospital.

The plane, which took off from Honolulu, landed at Incheon on May 28. The woman had been scheduled to fly on to Fukuoka in southwestern Japan, the police said.

"We've heard no suicide note was found," a Korean Air spokesman said.

Police informed the Japanese embassy of the incident and are investigating the case.