Jetstar passenger ordered to cover cost of dumped fuel after drunk behaviour forced flight to turn back

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

A man has been fined AUD$9,000 (£4,800) and ordered to contribute towards fuel costs after his drunk and disorderly behaviour forced a flight bound for Sydney to turn back to Perth.

Wade Douglas Corbett, 34, appeared in Perth magistrates court on Monday following an incident on a domestic flight where he became intoxicated and aggressive, creating a serious disturbance.

The incident happened on the Jetstar flight JQ989 in September 2023, which took off from Perth and was scheduled to land in Sydney later that night.

However, the pilot was forced to tun around just over an hour into the journey and return to Perth so Corbett could be removed from the plane. This meant 150 passengers were left stranded in Perth overnight.

According to court documents, Corbett had consumed a significant amount of alcohol prior to and during the flight, which resulted in his disorderly and threatening behaviour towards other passengers and the cabin crew.

He pleaded guilty to one count of disorderly behaviour on an aircraft and one count of failure to comply with safety instructions.

The court heard that he became aggressive when crew refused to serve him more alcohol. He then refused the pilot’s orders to fasten his seatbelt before locking himself in the toilet and refusing to come out.

After the plane returned to Perth, Australia Federal Police were called to escort him off the plane.

The court heard how returning to Perth meant that the pilot needed to offload fuel in order to land, which resulted in $20,000 (£10,180) of fuel being dumped.

Corbett was ordered to pay $8,630 (£4,400) of fuel costs as well as the $9,000 (£4,800) fine.

“This incident should serve as a warning that criminal behaviour on board can come at a heavy cost to the offender,” Australian Federal Police Acting Superintendent Shona Davis told 7News.

“It’s far simpler to obey the directions of airline staff than cause unnecessary issues, which can end up hitting you in the hip pocket.

“The AFP is committed to ensuring all travellers have a safe journey from their departure through to their arrival at their destination.”

Last month, a passenger was arrested after using an emergency exit to disembark a parked Jetstar plane in Melbourne airport.

In April this year, an Australian domestic flight was forced to turn around mid-flight after a naked man ran down the aisle before being tackled by another passenger.