A man was arrested after opening an emergency exit door and climbing onto the wing of a Jetstar plane after arriving at Melbourne Airport (MEL).
The incident occurred on flight JQ507 from Sydney to Melbourne on August 22, 2024. The flight was operated by an Airbus A320-200 aircraft.
Pictures and video footage of the incident were shared across social media the same day.
The aircraft landed at MEL at 09:58 local time and came to a stop at the gate, when the passenger ran towards the emergency exit and opened the door, deploying the emergency slide. Instead of using the slide, the man walked on the wing and climbed down to the ground from one of the aircraft’s two engines.
Fellow passenger Audrey Varghese told Melbourne Radio 3AW that the man was behaving strangely prior to the incident, ignoring seatbelt signs and flight attendant requests for him to remain seated.
“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 was shoving people, causing a bit of commotion,” Varghese said.
He added that the incident caused panic among other passengers, with many screaming when they saw the man climb out of the plane.
The man was arrested by Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers. He was taken to hospital by paramedics for a medical evaluation.
The AFP has launched an investigation into this incident. Charges against the man are expected to be filed later.
