Shocking new details emerge about Jetstar ‘flight from hell’ – after passenger opened emergency exit

Traumatised Jetstar passengers have spoken of their ‘fear’ after a man ripped open an emergency exit, ‘ran’ out onto the wing and then dangled from the engine before being tackled by ground crew.

Flight JQ507 from Sydney landed in Melbourne at around 10am on Thursday when a man in his 30s opened the emergency exit and ‘jumped out’.

The passenger then ‘ran’ to the right wing of the A320-200 aircraft and dangled from the turbine engine before being restrained by ground handling personnel.

New details have emerged about the ‘flight from hell’, with one passenger claiming the man vaped during the flight and demanding that flight attendants serve him alcohol.

Kyle Kenneth, who was sitting in the emergency exit row, said the man “wasn’t aggressive, he was just looking at the exit.”

“When everyone realized what he was trying to do, they said, ‘Stop, what are you doing? We’re leaving soon,’” he said in a video posted to social media.

“It’s hard to describe, but he didn’t take anyone else with him. He just had this one look in his eyes, and he kept trying to reach into the emergency exit row to pull the lever down.”

Mr Kenneth called the experience “surreal”.

“The flight attendants, God bless him, pulled him back with all their might,” he added.

“He was just strong, but he wasn’t aggressive. He kept going and kept trying to hit the emergency exit panel. With one of the blows, he managed to knock the panel off.”

According to Mr Kenneth, the man then managed to pull open the ’45 kg door’ with one hand and ‘then walked out via the wing’.

“He didn’t take the emergency slide but jumped onto the motorcycle and appeared to be hanging from it,” he added.

Despite the havoc the man had caused, Mr Kenneth believed the man had ‘mental problems and meant no harm’.

“He wasn’t aggressive, he almost looked scared, like he had to get off the plane at that moment,” he added.

According to Mr Kenneth, other passengers told him the man had gone to the toilet ‘five or six times’ during the flight and had ‘kept an eye on the exits’.

“I’m just really glad it didn’t happen while we were in the air,” he said.

“I don’t even know if you can do it in the air. It was way too easy for him, honestly. He did it with one hand, which is really scary.”

Another passenger, 2GB producer Audrey Varghese, said 7News that the man was behaving in a ‘very antisocial’ manner.

“It’s common knowledge that you stay in your seat until the ‘fasten your seat belt’ sign goes off,” she said.

But he stood up while the plane was still moving.

“The cabin crew were quite shocked that he would even do that.”

Ms Varghese said the man walked to the emergency room, where he caused a “commotion” by “pushing” passengers aside before he could make his attempt to free himself.

“It was hectic, everyone was screaming,” Ms Varghese added.

“It was just pure fear. People were so afraid of what could go wrong.”

Adam, a passenger on the plane, told Sky News that the man was “stunned” upon landing.looked a little disturbed’.

“I suspected he had a psychotic disorder,” he said.

“When we actually got to the gate, he reached for the emergency exit and pulled it. Everyone at that point was yelling at him and telling him to stop and trying to physically restrain him.”

Several passengers tried to stop the man, but he was able to ‘jump straight through’ the exit door.

“When it happened, everyone was screaming and not many people knew what was happening,” Adam continued.

‘There was quite a tense atmosphere, the lady at the emergency exit was quite traumatized.’

The man was arrested and all passengers on board were allowed to disembark.

A Jetstar spokesperson confirmed that a passenger ‘opened the emergency exit upon arrival in Melbourne, causing the slide to automatically deploy’.

“The plane was parked at the gate at the time. The passenger was arrested by the AFP,” the airline said.

According to AFP, officers have arrested a man for “alleged aggressive behavior and violating aircraft security protocols” and charges are likely to be filed.