Man arrested for running naked through aircraft, knocking over flight attendant

A Virgin Australia flight on Monday night was forced to turn around after a passenger ran naked through the cabin and pushed over a flight attendant, according to the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

VA696 departed Perth as scheduled and was about an hour en route to Melbourne when the incident occurred, causing the pilots to make a U-turn and return to Perth, according to FlightAware.

“Appropriate steps were taken by the crew, in line with protocol” to deal with the “disruptive passenger,” a Virgin Australia spokesperson told USA TODAY in an email statement.

AFP officers were called to meet the passenger when the plane landed safely back at Perth.

“AFP officers arrested a man after he allegedly ran naked through the aircraft mid-flight and knocked a crew member to the floor,” an AFP spokesperson told USA TODAY in an email.

The passenger is currently being held at a local hospital for assessment. He is expected to appear before Perth Magistrates Court on June 14, although the charges he will face have yet to be finalized, AFP said.

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One of the passengers onboard the flight told the Guardian Australia, "All of a sudden I hear this running up the aisle and the guy's got no clothes on and he's just charging towards the front of the plane." The passenger also said there was "a lot of yelling and screaming."

“The safety of our guests and crew is our top priority and we sincerely apologize to guests impacted,” the airline said.

The aircraft continued to Melbourne and landed 28 minutes late.

Last month, an unruly passenger who caused a United Airlines flight to be diverted after threatening to "mess up the plane" during a loud argument with his girlfriend was charged $20,638 in restitution fees.

Kathleen Wong is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Hawaii. You can reach her at kwong@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Passenger arrested for running naked through aircraft during flight