Disturbing images have emerged of a naked man forcing a Perth to Melbourne flight to turn around.
The ‘mad’ man was seen running down the aisle of the plane, trying to reach the cockpit or the front door, before he was stopped by passengers on a Virgin flight on Tuesday evening.
Passenger Sterling Ellis recalled hearing the commotion just an hour into the trip.
“I looked up and someone is completely naked. “They ran over one of the flight attendants and it looks like they went to the door,” he said Today on Wednesday.
‘Luckily there was a gentleman in business class who was a big guy. He stood up and checked the scene. Two others joined him.
‘It was quite a scary moment… The mind can wander to the worst-case scenario and for a moment I thought this was going to be very serious.’
A naked man was arrested (pictured) after forcing a Virgin flight from Perth to Melbourne to turn around on Tuesday evening
The ‘crazy’ man reportedly tried to reach the cockpit or front door of the plane before being stopped by passengers and flight attendants
Another passenger described feeling uncomfortable as the man ran through the plane.
“A male passenger suddenly started running down the aisle carrying bananas and hitting the cockpit door,” they told Melbourne radio station 3AW.
‘Two air marshals had to restrain the person and handcuff him until… [flight] landed’.
The flight from Perth to Melbourne was already delayed by 90 minutes before departing at 7.20pm local time.
Some passengers chose to board a second flight to Melbourne about six hours after arriving in Perth, while others opted to wait until the next morning.
A Virgin spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia the flight “returned to Perth due to a disruptive passenger on board.”
“Upon arrival in Perth, the aircraft was met by Australian Federal Police and the disruptive guest was offloaded,” they said.
“The safety of our guests and crew is our top priority and we sincerely apologize to the guests affected.”
The spokesperson confirmed that the crew on board the aircraft took appropriate measures to minimize disruption and ensure the aircraft was able to land safely after it was returned to Perth Airport.
Australian Federal Police officers were called to the airport before the plane landed and are now believed to be investigating the matter.
Passenger Sterling Ellis (pictured) described the incident as ‘quite a scary moment for a second’
Virgin offered to put the passengers on a second flight to Melbourne six hours after they landed in Perth
An AFP spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that officers arrested the man after he allegedly ran naked through the plane and knocked a crew member to the ground.
“The man was taken to hospital for examination, where he remains,” the spokesperson said.
The man will appear in the Perth Magistrates Court on June 14.