A passenger was arrested at an Australian airport after he left a stationary airliner through an emergency exit, walked along a wing, and then climbed down a jet engine to the tarmac on Thursday, officials said.
Jetstar Flight JQ507 had arrived at Melbourne Airport from Sydney and had parked at a terminal gate when the man left the plane by the right-side exit, officials said.
Opening the exit automatically deployed a slide from the back of the wing at the fuselage to the ground, a Jetstar statement said. But the man instead walked along the wing and climbed down one of the Airbus A320’s two engines, an official said.
Passenger Audrey Varghese said passengers screamed and shrieked as the man began “erratic” behavior shortly before he opened the hatch.
“The man was exhibiting some quite strange behavior,” Varghese told Melbourne Radio 3AW.
“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,” Varghese said.
Varghese told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the incident left her “terrified.”
“I was really shocked at first. 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,” she told the outlet.
Another passenger, identified as Maddison, told Nine News television the man had been vaping, which is not allowed, during the 90-minute mid-morning flight and had unsuccessfully demanded the air crew provide him with alcohol.
Australian Federal Police officers had been alerted by Jetstar staff and arrested the man for “alleged aggressive behavior and breaching aircraft safety protocols,” a police statement said.
He was assessed by paramedics and taken to a hospital, where he remains for further assessment, the police statement said.
Police were continuing to investigate and charges were likely to be laid at a later date, they said.
Melbourne Airport said the man was detained by aircrew and ground staff before police arrested him.
Social media images showed at least three ground staff restraining the man on the tarmac.
“Melbourne Airport is proud of the exceptional response from ground crew, which meant there was no immediate danger to other passengers or airport staff,” an airport statement said.
Varghese spoke from the baggage collection area of the airport an hour after the landing and said passengers had been told the deployed slide had delayed the unloading of their luggage. Nine News reported the baggage was released hours later.
The incident in Australia comes one day after the Federal Aviation Administration said it had referred 43 more unruly passenger cases to the FBI for criminal prosecution review during the past year.
The FAA said the agency has now referred more than 310 of the most serious cases to the FBI since late 2021.
“Dangerous passengers put everyone at risk—and the Biden-Harris Administration has been clear that those who disrupt flights will be held accountable,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “Unruly travelers face stiff fines from the FAA and possible criminal prosecution too.”