Airline Passenger Arrested After Climbing Onto Wing, Engine of Jet
A poorly behaved airline passenger was arrested at a major Australian airport, 9News.au reported, after he allegedly opened the emergency exit and climbed onto the wing of the plane.
The 90-minute Jetstar Flight JQ507 from Sydney to Melbourne arrived at its destination on Thursday morning with no issue. However, as soon as the plane landed, one passenger opened the plane’s right-side emergency exit door and left the aircraft in an untraditional fashion. While the door opening automatically deployed the emergency slide at the aircraft’s rear, the unidentified man walked across the Airbus A320's wing and scrambled down one of its engines.
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"The man was exhibiting some quite strange behavior," passenger Audrey Varghese told Melbourne Radio’s 3AW Mornings' Tom Elliott (via 9News). Varghese said the man was acting “erratic,” causing some passengers to panic and scream, before he breached the emergency exit.
A passenger named Madison told 9News that the man was moving throughout the flight. “He was getting up, he was getting down. He kept asking the staff for alcohol,” she said. “He was vaping, as well."
"As soon as the plane had started coming to a stop, he immediately got up and basically charged to where the emergency exit row is, and in the process shoving people, causing a bit of commotion, (and) ripped open the emergency door," the witness explained.
"I was really shocked at first,” Varghese admitted. “My friend and I were talking at the time and then as soon as we heard someone shrieking we sort of froze. We were quite terrified.”
Jetstar employees alerted the Australian Federal Police to the man’s behavior, and officers arrested him for "alleged aggressive behavior and breaching aircraft safety protocols." Another witness told reporters that the man tried to fight back against authorities as he was being arrested.
He was yelling, trying to fight [the officers] holding him [and] yelling, ‘Hit me, hit me!’ And then [saying], ‘You’ve hurt me,’” the unidentified woman recalled.
Footage shows the man clamoring down the side of the plane’s wing. Moments later, deputies swarm him on the tarmac as the man shouts and points to someone off camera.
“Everyone had a window-view seat,” Madison said. “Some great in-flight entertainment from Jetstar.”
9News reported that all of the passenger’s made it safely off of the airplane without injury, but, in a brutal twist, “their luggage was held up for hours.” The man was taken to a local hospital for evaluation, where he remained on Thursday afternoon. Authorities are still investigating the incident and say charges are likely to be filed at a later date.