He decided to just wing it.
Thought you were impatient to depart an airplane? An antsy passenger was arrested in Australia after he “ripped open” the emergency exit of a grounded aircraft and walking along its wing.
“The man was exhibiting some quite strange behavior,” a “terrified” fly-witness Audrey Varghese, 21, told Melbourne Radio 3AW of the wild incident. The incident occurred aboard a Jetstar flight that had flown from Sydney to Melbourne, CBS reported.
The plane had come to a halt at its destination, when, suddenly, the unnamed flyer “immediately got up and basically charged to where the emergency exit row is,” she recalled to 9 News Australia, adding that he appeared “erratic” and was “shoving people, causing a bit of commotion.”
The hellion then “ripped open” the hatch, Varghese added, which caused the emergency slide to deploy.
However, instead of taking the inflatable chute, the passenger bizarrely walked along the wing and then slid down the engine to the ground, where he was apprehended.
Accompanying footage showed the orange-shirted miscreant tussling with authorities on the tarmac.
“I was really shocked at first,” Varghese told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation while recounting the wild incident. “My friend and I were talking at the time and then as soon as we heard someone shrieking, we sort of froze.”
Another passenger claimed that the wingman had been vaping, which is prohibited, and had also unsuccessfully demanded the crew members serve him alcohol.
The unruly fellow has since been arrested for “aggressive behavior and breaching aircraft safety protocols,” the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said in a statement.
“The man was assessed by ambulance officers and later transferred to hospital for further assessment,” an AFP representative said.
Police are continuing to probe the incident, and charges will be set at a later date.
A Melbourne Airport spokesperson commended the authorities on their speedy response to the disruption.
“Melbourne Airport is proud of the exceptional response from ground crew, which meant there was no immediate danger to other passengers or airport staff,” they said
Meanwhile, Varghese praised the cabin crew for keeping the passengers calm and “making sure no one was injured.”
