A man has been fined 9,000 Australian dollars (around 5,700 euros) by the Magistrates Court in Perth for his behaviour on a domestic flight. His drunk and disorderly state forced a Jetstar flight to turn around mid-air.
The incident took place in September 2023 on Jetstar flight JQ989. The plane was scheduled to fly from Perth to Sydney, but, after just one hour, the pilot had to turn around and touch down back in Perth. 150 passengers therefore got stranded overnight. They had to be given accommodation before being able to board another flight to Sydney.
The problem was caused by Wade Douglas Corbett, aged 33 at the time. Prior to and during the flight, the man consumed a significant amount of alcohol, leaving him intoxicated. He then started to display disorderly and threatening behaviour towards the other travellers and the plane crew, causing the pilot to turn around in order to have him removed from the flight by Australia’s Federal Police.
Wade Douglas Corbett’s unruly behavior forced a Jetstar flight to turn around, leaving 150 passengers stranded and costing him tens of thousands of dollars. pic.twitter.com/mQXChF3lxr
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Now, Wade Douglas Corbett appeared in the Perth Magistrates Court where he pleaded guilty to one count of disorderly behaviour on an aircraft and one count of failure to comply with safety instructions. According to court testimonies, he presented aggressive behaviour when the crew no longer wanted to serve him alcohol and he refused to put on his seatbelt despite the pilot’s instructions, locking himself in the bathroom. Moreover, in order to be able to land, the pilot had to offload 20,000 Australian dollars’ worth of fuel.
Because of his behaviour and the loss of fuel, the court ordered Corbett to pay two separate amounts. First, he was fined 9,000 Australian dollars (5,700 euros) for his disorderly behaviour and failure to comply with the safety instructions and then he was ordered to pay 8,630 Australian dollars (5,200 euros) to compensate for the fuel costs.
“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.”
