Passengers were urgently evacuated from a plane in Albury this morning after a hoax note claiming a bomb was onboard was discovered in the plane’s bathroom.
Cabin crew on Virgin Australia flight VA1174 from Sydney to Albury notified police on the ground as soon as they discovered the note, which was reportedly written on a sick bag.
Authorities met the aircraft on the tarmac when it landed.
A man has been arrested on arrival at Albury airport after an incident on a Virgin flight from Sydney https://t.co/yda0erdFXA #Albury #7News pic.twitter.com/y7HROdtV1y
— 7 News Sydney (@7NewsSydney) June 6, 2017
The 42 passengers onboard were apparently told to jump over a metre from the plane onto the tarmac at around 9:30am, with one passenger claiming they were told to “get out and run, run, run.”
BREAKING: Dramatic scenes unfolding at #Albury Airport. Police and emergency crews are on scene. More to follow @WINNews_Alb pic.twitter.com/K3r4USBgXL
— Ashlee Aldridge (@Ashlee_Aldridge) June 6, 2017
Virgin Australia says that shit-scary command may have been given by a fellow passenger on the 68-seater plane, not by staff.
Police arrested the passenger believed to have left the note. Witnesses say the man had been calm throughout the flight, and had left his seat for the bathroom once during the flight.
The man did not appear to resist arrest, and was taken to Albury Police Station for questioning.
The plane was thoroughly searched. There was no sign of an explosive device onboard.
The take away, here: don’t be an idiot and concoct a bomb threat because you’re bored in a flight, yeah?
