Four passengers have been arrested after fighting broke out on a plane in Australia, leading the plane to be turned around before taking off again, and having to make an emergency landing after another brawl resulted in a window breaking.
There’s a lot to get through, but the basic upshot is that four people were arrested after fighting broke out, which took place on two separate occasions.
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First, a fight broke out on the plane – which was flying from Cairns in Queensland to Northern Territory – that was so serious that the aircraft had to be turned around and returned to Queensland.
After that, a woman was removed from the plane and charged before the plane then took off again headed for the eventual destination.
However, the same group of unruly passengers are then said to have started arguing once again, which then caused another fight and the smashing of an internal window.
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That meant that the plane had to make an emergency landing at Alyangula in Groote Eylandt, which is off the east coast of the Northern Territory, before three more people were arrested.
A 23-year-old man has been charged with intentionally endangering the safety of others, as well as aggravated assault, damage to property, disorderly behaviour in a public place, and contravening a domestic violence order.
A 23-year-old woman has been charged with property damage, intentionally endangering the safety of others, and disorderly behaviour in a public place.
Also, a 22-year-old was charged with commercial drug supply, drug possession, disorderly behaviour, hindering a member of the police, and possessing liquor in a restricted area.
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Those three will face the court in Darwin on Monday.
The first woman who was removed in Queensland will also face a number of charges, as an Australian Federal Police spokesperson confirmed: “The AFP was called to attend an incident on a flight from Cairns to Groote Eylandt, which had caused the flight to be turned around, on Thursday, April 20,
“A female passenger was removed and charged with disorderly behavior on an aircraft, common assault and failing to comply with safety instructions by cabin crew.”
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In a video that purports to show some of the incident, the gang of passengers can be seen standing in the aisle of the plane, whilst one of them raises a bottle in an alleged attempt to strike another passenger.
The video was posted to Twitter by user @fulovitboss, who wrote: "Departing Cairns today..
"Just someone trying to glass someone.
"More fighting amongst themselves.
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"Complete disregard for other passengers and the plane.
"I wonder if there were any consequences."
Another account suggests that other passengers had to intervene to break up the fighting, though that is not shown in the short video.
Tom Wood