'Quite scary' - Irish man explains how fellow plane passenger opened emergency door and climbed on wing

An Irish man has described the "scary" moment a passenger on his flight from Sydney to Melbourne managed to open the emergency exit door after landing in Melbourne airport.

Federal agents in Australia arrested an airline passenger on Thursday who officials said opened a commercial plane's emergency exit door, walked along a wing, and climbed down a jet engine to the tarmac.

Kyle Kenneth, an Irish passenger aboard the flight, said he was "unfortunately" sitting in the exit row window seat, and witnessed the chaotic moment right in front of him.

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"The flight was normal, I didn't notice anything for the whole flight until we landed in Melbourne," Kyle explained in a post on TikTok.

"They were getting ready to open up the doors, the man ran down and tried to get out through the exit row, but he wasn't being aggressive, he was just looking at the exit.

A passenger on Jetstar flight JQ507, which departed earlier from Sydney, had apparently made five or six trips to the bathroom during the hour-long flight, and had eyed up the emergency exit while the flight was mid-air.

"Everyone realised what he was trying to to and told him to stop, but he wasn't taking anybody else in, and he just kept trying to reach for the lever for the exit row door," Kyle said. 

"It was a bit surreal, I didn't think he was actually going to do it considering we had landed and they were just about to open up the main exit, but he just wanted to go out that door".

Other passengers and staff then reportedly attempted to physically stop him, but the man reached the lever and opened the door, quickly climbing on to the wing and then the engine of the landed plane.

The federal police then restrained the man, before taking him away. Officials did not release the passenger's name or say where they are from.

"We had to wait a while on the plane and then the tarmac because of what had happened. I personally think he had some mental health issues and meant no harm, he wasn't being aggresive, he looked almost scared," Kyle added.

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