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A man was arrested at Avalon Airport on Thursday afternoon after allegedly attempting to board a Jetstar flight armed with a shotgun.
The 17-year-old, who police allege had dressed as a maintenance worker and climbed through a hole in the fence, was subdued by passengers before he could properly board flight JQ610 to Sydney.
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The airport went into lockdown shortly afterwards at around 3pm.
Police have charged the Ballarat youth with several offences including possessing a firearm, orchestrating a bomb hoax and unlawfully taking control of an aircraft, and he will appear in children’s court at a future date.
“Police were called to the airport about 2.50pm after reports a man with a firearm attempted to board a commercial flight,” a Victoria Police statement said. “The man was detained before getting onto the plane and police called.
“Officers attended and took the man into custody. Fortunately, no one was injured, and the investigation into the incident is ongoing.”
The Guardian quoted one passenger, Kim McLeod, who said passengers were already in their seats when the man allegedly attempted to enter the cabin through the forward stairs.
“We had just boarded the flight, we were sitting down, and all of a sudden there was a commotion down at the front of the cabin, you could tell something was happening because people started filming it.
“The pilot eventually got on the announcer and said that somebody had boarded the plane with a large gun.
“A pilot and passenger tackled him to the ground.”
Barry Clark, one of the passengers who reportedly managed to subdue the teenager, told ABC Radio Melbourne that the intruder had become “agitated” when speaking to a flight attendant.
“Before we knew it, a shotgun appeared and I was worried about it being shot, so all I could do was push her out of the way, get the gun out of the way, break that gun and throw it down the stairs, and then put him in a hold, throw him to the ground until the police came,” Clark said.
Jetstar is working with the airport and the police on the investigation.
