A dramatic citizen’s arrest unfolded on a Jetstar flight at Avalon Airport on Thursday afternoon when passengers and a pilot tackled a man allegedly attempting to board with a shotgun.
Victoria Police confirmed via email to media that they were called to the airport, about 50 kilometres south-west of Melbourne, at 2.50pm after reports of a man with a firearm trying to access the Sydney-bound flight JQ610.
The man, who was reportedly dressed as a maintenance worker in high-vis gear, was detained before the plane could take off. A fellow passenger, Barry Clark, and the pilot wrestled him to the floor, with Clark disarming him and throwing the weapon out of the aircraft.
“Before we knew it, a shotgun appeared. I was worried,” Clark told ABC Radio.
“All I could do was get the gun out of the way, throw it down the stairs, and hold him down until the police arrived.”
Footage from inside the plane showed passengers helping to restrain the man, while a flight attendant carried the gun’s stock off the aircraft. Witnesses described scenes of panic, with some fearing an attempted hijacking.
“We had just boarded when there was a commotion at the front of the cabin,” passenger Kim McLeod told The Guardian.
“People started filming, and then the pilot announced someone had boarded with a large gun.”
The airport was immediately placed in lockdown, and flights were grounded as police took the suspect into custody.
Jetstar confirmed it was assisting with the investigation, stating,
“The safety of our passengers and crew is our number one priority. We can confirm there are no reported injuries.”
Avalon Airport CEO Ari Suss said the facility would remain closed until further notice while authorities investigated how the man was able to bypass security.
Police are continuing their inquiries into the incident.
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