In a bizarre incident, a Virgin Australia flight from Perth to Melbourne had to return after a man ran naked through the cabin. The flight, VA696, had been in the air for about an hour when the incident occurred.
According to information, the man not only ran naked but also knocked a crew member to the floor. This caused the pilot to decide to return to Perth for the safety of everyone on board.
When the plane landed back in Perth, Australian federal police were waiting. They took the man into custody immediately. Virgin Australia said in a statement that the safety of their passengers and crew is their top priority and they apologised to everyone affected by the disruption.
The police reported that they were notified about the incident by the airport staff. The police said, Officers arrested a man after he allegedly ran naked through the aircraft mid-flight and knocked a crew member to the floor.
One of the passengers, a 23-year-old engineer named Sterling, shared his experience. He was on his way to Melbourne for his university graduation. Sterling said that about an hour into the flight, he suddenly heard running in the aisle. When he looked, he saw a man with no clothes running towards the front of the plane.
Sterling described feeling alarmed and initially fearing it could be an attack. He said there was a lot of yelling and screaming near the cockpit when the man knocked over the flight attendant.
Another passenger praised a man in business class who quickly got up to help. Two other passengers also joined in, and together they managed to tackle the naked man to the ground. They pinned him down and handcuffed him until the plane landed.
Another passenger shared with a radio station that the man suddenly went bananas running up and down the aisle and bashing on the cockpit door. It was also reported that two air marshals had to restrain the man.
