Traumatised Jetstar passengers have revealed their “terror” after a man threw open an emergency exit door, “ran” onto the wing and then hung onto the engine before being tackled by ground staff.
Flight JQ507 from Sydney had just landed in Melbourne at around 10am on Thursday when a man in his 30s opened the emergency exit door and jumped out.
The passenger then “ran” to the right wing of the A320-200 aircraft and clung to the turbine engine before being restrained by ground crew.
New details have emerged about the “flight from hell” – one passenger claimed the man had been vaping during the journey and demanded flight attendants serve him alcohol.
Kyle Kenneth, who was sitting in the emergency exit row, said the man “wasn’t being aggressive, he was just looking straight at the exit.”
“When everyone realized what I was trying to do, they said, ‘Stop, what are you doing? We’re about to leave,'” he said in a video posted on social media.
“It’s hard to describe, but he wasn’t accepting of anyone else. He just had a singular focus, a look in his eyes, and he kept trying to reach the emergency exit row to pull the lever down.”
Mr Kenneth said the experience was “surreal”.
A Jetstar passenger opened the emergency exit door just minutes after landing at Melbourne Airport.
The man was seen on the wing of the plane, before jumping down the slide.
“The flight attendants, God bless them, were pulling him back with all their might,” he added.
‘He was just being strong but he wasn’t being aggressive, he just kept going and kept trying to hit (the emergency exit door panel) and with one of the hits he managed to knock the panel off.’
Mr Kenneth said the man managed to open the “45kg door” with one hand and “ran out into the wing”.
“He doesn’t take the emergency slide, he jumps on the engine and it’s like he’s hanging from the engine,” he added.
Despite the chaos the man caused, Kenneth said he thought the man “had mental health issues and had no bad intentions.”
“He wasn’t being aggressive, he seemed almost scared, like he needed to get off the plane at that moment,” she added.
Kyle Kenneth, who was sitting in the emergency exit row, revealed in a TikTok video that the man “wasn’t being aggressive, he was just looking directly at the exit.”
Mr Kenneth said the man managed to open the “45kg door” with one hand and “ran out into the wing” (pictured: the emergency exit door).
Mr Kenneth said other passengers told him the man went to the toilet “five or six times” during the flight and was “keeping an eye on the exits”.
“I’m really thankful it didn’t happen while we were in the air,” he said.
“I don’t even know if you can do it in the air. To be honest, it was too easy for him. He did it with one hand, which is absolutely terrifying.”
Another passenger, 2GB producer Audrey Varghese, said 7News that the man had been behaving in a “really antisocial” manner.
“We’re all supposed to know that we’re supposed to stay in our seats until the seat belt sign goes off,” she said.
But he got up while the plane was still moving.
“The cabin crew were a little surprised that he would do that.”
Ms Varghese said the man walked towards the emergency queue where he caused a “commotion” by “pushing” passengers out of the way before attempting to free himself.
“It was very hectic, everyone was screaming,” Varghese added.
“It was pure terror. People were terrified thinking about what could have happened.”
Adam, a passenger on the flight, told Sky News that upon landing, the man…I was a little disturbed.
“I assumed he was having some kind of psychotic episode,” he said.
“When we got to the door, he reached for the emergency exit and activated it. At that point, everyone was yelling at him to stop and trying to physically restrain him.”
The slide deployed immediately when the man opened the emergency exit, but he was left hanging by the motor instead.
Several passengers tried to restrain the man, but he managed to jump through the exit door.
“When this was happening, everyone was screaming and not many people knew what was going on,” Adam continued.
“It was a very tense atmosphere, the lady sitting in the emergency exit row was quite traumatized.”
The man was arrested and all passengers on board were allowed to disembark.
A Jetstar spokesperson confirmed that a passenger “opened the emergency exit door after arriving in Melbourne, which automatically deployed the slide.”
“The plane was parked at the boarding gate at the time. The passenger was detained by the AFP,” the airline said.
AFP said officers arrested a man for “alleged aggressive behavior and violating aircraft safety protocols” and charges were likely to be filed.