Melbourne airport: Man arrested after opening Jetstar plane's door and walking on wing

A man has been arrested after he opened a plane door and walked onto its wing at an Australian airport on Thursday.

Jetstar Flight JQ507 had arrived at Melbourne Airport from Sydney and was stationary at a terminal gate when the man left the plane by the right-side exit, officials said.

Opening the exit automatically deployed a slide from the back of the wing at the fuselage to the ground, a Jetstar statement said.

But the man instead walked along the wing and climbed down one of the Airbus A320's two engines, an official said.

Passenger Audrey Varghese said passengers screamed and shrieked as the man began "erratic" behaviour shortly before he opened the hatch.

"The man was exhibiting some quite strange behaviour," Ms Varghese told 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 was.”

The man was reportedly pacing around before he opened the exit, with flight attendants and passengers urging him to sit down.

Australian Federal Police officers arrested the man for "alleged aggressive behaviour and breaching aircraft safety protocols," a police spokesperson said.

He was assessed by paramedics and taken to a hospital where he remains for further assessment.

Police were continuing to investigate and charges were likely to be laid at a later date, the spokesperson added.

Melbourne Airport said the man was detained by aircrew and ground staff before police arrested him.

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

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