A 17-year-old has been charged after he allegedly boarded a Jetstar flight with a firearm.
Officers were called to Avalon Airport on Thursday after the incident happened about 2.20pm.
Crew and passengers on the flight managed to restrain the boy.
Two bags and a vehicle belonging to the teenager were allegedly located by police.
As a safety precaution, the bags were dealt with by the Bomb Response Unit.
No injuries occurred during the incident, but the 17-year-old from Ballarat has since been charged with a number of offences.
These include unlawfully taking control of an aircraft, endangering safe operation of an aircraft, endangering safety of aircraft, dangerous goods on an aircraft, threat to the safety of an aircraft, bomb hoax, possess firearm, and traffic-related offences.
“He was remanded in custody to appear at a children’s court at a later date,” NSW Police said.
A passenger on the flight, Barry Clark, told Channel 10’s The Project how he leapt into action when he saw the boy holding a shotgun.
“In a split second I saw the barrel, but when I saw the complete gun I said, ‘We’re in trouble here.’
“Then I saw it towards her (flight attendant’s) chest and I thought, ‘Well I’ve got to do something.’
“So, I got up quietly, he had his back to me, the young girl was facing me and the gun was visible. I knew that if I went to the side and pushed the gun away from him, at least if it went off, it would go off on the side of the plane and there was no one there.”
