A man might be facing charges after he removed a plane’s emergency exit and walked on the wing of the aircraft.
The Jetstar Airbus A320-200 had successfully landed at Melbourne International Airport from Sydney, Australia, when the passenger began acting ‘erratically’.
Witnesses reported that the man ‘charged’ towards the emergency exit, opened it, and then walked along the wing, eventually sliding down the engine.
He was taken into custody upon exiting the aircraft.
Audrey Varghese was aboard the JQ507 flight traveling from Melbourne to Sydney when the incident took place.
The passenger was seated diagonally across from her and stood up once the plane had landed.
Airline staff quickly instructed him to sit down, which he initially did, but he soon got up again.
Varghese described that the man ‘charged towards the front of the plane to the emergency exit row in the middle, pushed past some people, and then he ripped off the emergency exit door’.
“I was really shocked at first,” she told ABC News Australia. “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.”
Varghese commended the airline crew for managing to keep the other passengers calm despite the man’s ‘strange, erratic behaviour’.
A Melbourne Airport spokesperson confirmed that the man was detained immediately.
They informed UNILAD via email: “A passenger on a Jetstar flight exited the aircraft via the emergency exit upon arrival into Melbourne Airport.
“The plane was parked at the time of the incident. The passenger was immediately detained by staff and arrested by the Australian Federal Police.
“Melbourne Airport is proud of the exceptional response from ground crew, which meant there was no immediate danger to other passengers or airport staff.”
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) also confirmed that the man was arrested ‘for aggressive behaviour and breaching aircraft safety protocols’.
The AFP spokesperson stated: “The man was assessed by ambulance officers and later transferred to hospital for further assessment.”
The governing body mentioned that charges are likely to be pressed against the passenger.
A similar incident occurred last year on an Asiana Airlines flight from Jeju to Daegu in South Korea when a man opened the plane’s emergency door mid-flight.
The person seated next to the individual who opened the door expressed fear for his life during the incident. The passenger responsible was subsequently arrested by police.