Jetstar gunman incident

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Melburnian1

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With the Thursday 6 March incident of a man dressed in high vis as a maintenance worker at Avalon Airport who allegedly attempted to bring a gun and knife onboard JQ610, the 1455 hours mid afternoon AVV-SYD (to be operated by A320 VH-YXQ) but who was tackled on the plane by passenger(s) with 'the assistance of' a pilot, it isn't clear how the gent managed to get through security and indeed on to the aircraft.

Did he succeed in entering the waiting area by other than the security lane? Did he carry fake ID on a lanyard?

How did he manage to get on the plane?

Was he a genuine maintenance employee or contractor who (allegedly) made a stupid (and dangerous) decision to bring weapons with him today?

The A320's flight was cancelled. It remains at Avalon.
 
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Others may have a better memory, but this is the first such incident in many years I can recall. Please enlighten me.

We lack all the information but it'll no doubt prompt a security review at quite a few so-called 'second tier' airports that have domestic flights.

From media reports unrelated to the above, 'lone actors' are a real problem because often security agencies have no idea what such individuals have in their mind to do.

'Herald Sun' has a photo of a passenger 'tackling him to the ground' with a pilot on the gent's other side. 'HS" says it's being described as a 'massive security breach'.

Clarifying the type of gun, it allegedly was a 'shotgun'.
 
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'The Australian' has a video. It shows the man reached the door to the aircraft after (naturally, being Avalon) climbing the stairs where he was overpowered.

The pilot holds what appears to be a shotgun. The pilot then removes either tools or ammunition from a tradie's pouch.

Police say the alleged gunman is 17 years old: at 1420 hours, he'd breached the security fence. It's unclear if there was a hole in the fence that was pre existing or whether the alleged gunman created such a hole.

The report says he was overpowered by three passengers, so that corrects what I wrote above. A shearer from Echuca was one.

A 17 year old would normally be dealt with by the Children's Court for lesser offences. However this is a more serious matter.
 
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Reminds me of HMAS Penguin, a military facility in Sydney which is protected by private security.

One time I was supposed to be there at the hospital. I just drove in to the gate. Said which way to the hospital. They let me in no ID needed, no questions asked.

Security is lax in many places. Even the scanners at airport miss important contraband from time to time.

Don't get me started on security screening at regional airports..
 
Fortunately the man in 1C was a shearer so probably quite fit. When asked what was going through his mind at the moment he said-“You don’t think you act.”
Apparently the FA was questioning him as he had no credentials. Got agitated and produced a shot gun.
 
I’d be interested to see his history. Victoria has huge issues at the moment.

My brother had his car stolen in Victoria, offender was on bail, and had around a dozen court visits in the year prior. A couple of months later he was picked up for breaking into a small business. Absolute joke.
 
AVV looks as if it remains closed.

Scheduled arrivals JQ531 from OOL was cancelled, but that was due to Cyclone Alfred's approach as OOL itself had already been closed.

The next two, JQ611 and JQ613 have been cancelled due to the above incident.
 
From my understanding he attempted to board by getting through the fence or gate or whatever. Or at least did attempt to board by going through the terminal.
Anyway, I stopped reading at ‘17-year-old teenager’
 

Here’s the AAP story.​

​

Shotgun-wielding teen overpowered by plane passengers​

A teenager armed with a shotgun breached an airport's security fence and tried to force his way onto a commercial flight before being overpowered by passengers.

Police were called to Avalon Airport near Geelong, in Victoria, on Thursday afternoon following reports a male with a firearm had attempted to board the Jetstar flight.

A 17-year-old acting alone had climbed through a hole in the airport's security fencing before making his way on foot to a Jetstar flight, Victoria Police Superintendent Michael Reid said.

The flight which was carrying about 150 people was bound for Sydney.

The teen tried to climb the front stairs into the plane cabin but was noticed by passengers carrying the shotgun and subsequently overpowered by three civilians.

"This would have been a very terrifying incident for the passengers of that plane, and Victoria Police really commend the bravery of those passengers who were able to overpower that male," Supt Reid told reporters on Thursday.

Police detained the teenager and found live ammunition rounds along with the shotgun, but say he is not known to police.

Supt Reid said detectives were still investigating the motive for the incident and are speaking with counter-terrorism officers but said it is too early to deem the act terror-related.

They believe the boy climbed through a hole in the fence but whether he'd cut it himself or it was already there is being investigated.

The vehicle that he arrived in has been located, Supt Reid said.

Jetstar is working with Victoria Police and the airport to understand what happened.

"The safety of our passengers and crew is our number one priority and we can confirm there are no reported injuries," an airline spokeswoman said.

Avalon Airport is Victoria's second busiest airport and is closed to visitors until further notice, Avalon Airport chief executive Ari Suss said.

All flights scheduled for Thursday evening have been cancelled and re-routed.
 

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