Man opens plane door, walks along wing and climbs over engine as passengers scream in panic

A passenger caused a major security scare at an Australian airport after he exited a stationary plane through an emergency exit, strolled along the wing, and then clambered down a jet engine to the tarmac on Thursday, officials reported.

Jetstar Flight JQ507 had just landed at Melbourne Airport from Sydney and was parked at a terminal gate when the man made his unconventional exit from the right-side door , according to officials. The act of opening the exit automatically triggered a slide to deploy from the back of the wing at the fuselage to the ground, as per a Jetstar statement.

However, the man chose to walk along the wing and descend one of the Airbus A320's two engines, an official revealed. Passenger Audrey Varghese described a scene of panic as passengers screamed and shrieked when the man began displaying "erratic" behavior before he opened the hatch.

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"The man was exhibiting some quite strange behavior," Varghese shared with Melbourne Radio 3AW. "As soon as the plane started coming to a stop, he immediately got up and charged to where the emergency exit row is," Varghese added.

Australian Federal Police officers were alerted by Jetstar staff and promptly arrested the man for "alleged aggressive behavior and breaching aircraft safety protocols," according to a police statement. Paramedics assessed him and he was transported to a hospital where he remains for further evaluation, the police statement confirmed.

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Police are continuing their investigation and charges are expected to be filed at a later date, they announced. Melbourne Airport confirmed the man was restrained by flight and ground personnel prior to police intervention.

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"Melbourne Airport is proud of the exceptional response from ground crew, which meant there was no immediate danger to other passengers or airport staff," the statement from the airport highlighted.

It comes after a similar incident on an American Airlines flight earlier this month saw another disruptive passenger attempting to open emergency exits. The male passenger had reportedly ingested marijuana edibles before "threatening the lives" of fellow passengers mid-air.

The chaos allegedly unfolded as he began to shout at crew members and tried to exit the aircraft mid-flight, prompting an urgent landing.