In a shocking move, a flight in Australia was forced to return shortly after take-off after a man ran naked through the cabin, as per a report in The Guardian. The Virgin Australia flight was departing from Perth to Melbourne when the incident occurred. The man also hit a crew member on the floor.
After VA696 was turned around an hour into the journey to Melbourne, Australian federal police met the officials when it returned to Perth airport on Monday night and took the man into custody.
The flight, which typically takes three and a half hours, returned to the airport on Tuesday, according to the airline representative, because of a "disruptive passenger" who was "offloaded" by police. "The safety of our guests and crew is our top priority and we sincerely apologise to guests impacted," the spokesperson added.
The police stated that they were alerted about the incident by the airport staff. They said, "Officers arrested a man after he allegedly ran naked through the aircraft mid-flight and knocked a crew member to the floor".
A passenger on the plane, Sterling, said that within an hour of the flight, "all of a sudden I hear this running up the aisle and the guy's got no clothes on and he's just charging towards the front of the plane".
The 23-year-old engineer was going to Melbourne for his university graduation. He said that he was "initially alarmed at the sight of someone charging towards the cockpit," as per the outlet. Sterling claimed that when the man reportedly knocked over the flight attendant, there was "a lot of yelling and screaming" near the cockpit.
"Initially you think, God forbid, it could be an attack. It's really distressing being on a plane in that situation," he said. Sterling continued, "One good Samaritan, this big guy in business class, jumped up straight away to intervene and then these two other guys later got up and tackled him to the ground." He said the individual was pinned down, handcuffed, and taken to the back of the aircraft.
The man allegedly "suddenly went bananas running up and down the aisle and bashing on the cockpit door," according to another passenger who had been on the flight. "Two air marshals had to restrain and handcuff the individual until the [flight] landed," the passenger told a radio station.
The unruly traveller was sent to a nearby hospital for evaluation, where he remained on Tuesday night. Although the accusations were still pending, it was anticipated that he would receive a summons to appear before the Perth magistrates court in June.
