A woman was arrested at Canberra Airport after she entered the airport and walked onto the runway, AviationSource reports.
She was allegedly trying to board a plane after missing an earlier flight. She allegedly managed to get past airport security checkpoints and run out to a QantasLink plane as it prepared to take off to Adelaide.
The video shows how she tries to attract the attention of pilots in the first officer’s cabin, being under the window on the starboard side of the aircraft.
Mild chaos at #CanberraAirport tonight. #runwaymodel ? 😛 #securitybreach pic.twitter.com/JEVaj9Omnr
— Dennis Bilic (@TheFullDen) November 1, 2023
An alarm can be heard in the background as a slightly startled first officer spots her through the cockpit window. The plane’s crew subsequently took precautionary measures by shutting down the engine.
Posts on social media by fellow Canberra Airport passengers said the woman managed to get past security and the security door before she made her way onto the runway and approached the QantasLink plane as it prepared to take off.
An eyewitness to the incident subsequently commented on social networks: “Such a thing, despite the circumstances and the presence of personnel, no one stopped it. So much for safety. If it had been at the cricket, it would have been eliminated immediately.”
The woman was reportedly charged with two counts of property damage: one count of unlawfully entering a security area and another count of possessing a small amount of cannabis.