Summary Melbourne Airport experienced a shocking incident involving a passenger opening an emergency exit and running along a Jetstar A320 wing. The bizarre behavior left passengers terrified as the man opened the emergency exit after the plane landed, causing the slide to deploy. Ground staff at Melbourne Airport were hailed as heroes for quickly addressing the situation, ensuring the safety of all passengers and staff.
A bizarre incident this morning at Melbourne Airport left passengers stunned and frightened when a passenger ripped open an emergency exit and deployed the emergency slide of a just-landed Jetstar A320. The man ran along the wing before being dragged off and cornered by airport ground staff until he was arrested by the Australian Federal Police. What happened in Melbourne Simple Flying enthusiasts will have read many articles about people trying to open aircraft exit doors, sometimes to let in some fresh air or mistaking the door for the toilet, but today's Jetstar episode seems beyond explanation.
Here is an X post that was the lead item in Australia's Channel 7 National News. A Jetstar spokesperson said the Airbus A320 , flight JQ507 from Sydney, had just landed in Melbourne at about 10:00 when the passenger jumped up and opened the emergency exit door. "We can confirm that a passenger opened the emergency exit door after arrival into Melbourne, which automatically deployed the slide.
The plane was parked at the gate at the time. The passenger exited via the emergency exit and walked along the wing before making his way down to the ground via the engine." Audrey Varghese, a passenger on the aircraft, told the ABC that the man had been sitting diagonally opposite and had stood up while the plane was taxiing but sat down when instructed by the cabin crew.
She said that as soon as the aircraft stopped the man jumped out of his seat and...
, "He charged towards the front of the plane, to the emergency exit row in the middle, pushed past some people, and then ripped off the emergency exit door. It was really strange, erratic behaviour. Everyone was taken aback by what was going on.
We were quite terrified." Baggage handlers and ground staff often come in for a lot of criticism, fair and unfair, but this morning they were the heroes of the hour. They ran to the aircraft and dragged the man off the engine, cornered and detained him until handing him over to the Australian Federal Police, who provide law enforcement services at the airport.
The airport was rightly proud of its workers, with a spokesperson saying: "Melbourne Airport is proud of the exceptional response from ground crew, which meant there was no immediate danger to other passengers or airport staff." Jetstar Asia has opened a new international gateway from Singapore into regional Western Australia with flights to Broome. The aftermath The Australian Federal Police said the man was arrested for aggressive behavior and breaching aircraft safety protocols, adding: "The man was assessed by ambulance officers and later transferred to hospital for further assessment, where he remains.
AFP is continuing to investigate this matter, and charges are likely to be laid at a future date." The flight started routinely with the Jetstar A320, registration VH-VFL and MSN 05489, departing Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport (SYD) at 08:31 and landing at Melbourne Airport (MEL) at 09:52. Apart from the offender's erratic behavior, the flight proceeded like every other Sydney-Melbourne run, until it stopped and the drama unfolded within seconds.
The A320 had a full day of flying ahead of it, but tracking data from Flightradar24 shows it has not left Melbourne Airport. It will likely be there for some time until the door slide issue is remediated, which is estimated to cost around AU$100,000 ($67,000). Aside from price wars, Australian aviation is generally an uneventful experience, but for those unfortunately traveling on today's JQ507, this episode may linger for some time.
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