Australian police arrest man accused of running naked through passenger plane

MELBOURNE, Australia – A man accused of running naked down the aisle of an Australian domestic flight, knocking over a flight attendant and forcing the plane to turn around was arrested by police at the airport on Tuesday, officials said.

The incident occurred at the start of a scheduled three-and-a-half-hour Virgin Australia flight on Monday evening from the west coast city of Perth to Melbourne on the east coast.

Flight VA696 returned to Perth Airport due to a “disruptive passenger,” the airline said in a statement.

Australian Federal Police officers were waiting for the plane and “the disruptive guest was offloaded,” Virgin said.

Police said “officers arrested a man after he allegedly ran naked through the plane mid-flight and pushed a crew member to the ground.”

“The man was taken to hospital for examination, where he remains,” a police statement said.

It was not clear how or where on the plane the passenger had removed his clothes.

Police expect the man to appear before a court in Perth on June 14. It is not yet clear what charges will be brought against him.

The airline apologized to the “affected guests” and added that the safety of passengers and crew was its top priority.

Both the airline and police declined to comment beyond their statements.

The Australian Broadcasting Corp. said no one was injured in the incident.