Panic broke out aboard an AirAsia flight after an intoxicated passenger stripped naked and attempted to jump from the aircraft, according to a viral video of the incident.
The disturbance occurred on Thursday, January 29, on an Airbus A320 flying from Cam Ranh, Vietnam, to Bangkok, Thailand. The flight was reportedly about 15 minutes from landing when the passenger, believed to be Russian, became agitated and began running up and down the aisle.
Eyewitnesses said the man suddenly removed his clothes, exposing his torso, and demanded to be allowed off the plane.
“I have flown hundreds, if not thousands, of times and have never encountered anything like this,” passenger Piaporn Chamsrio told Viral Press, describing the incident as shocking.
Chamsrio said the man appeared heavily intoxicated, noting that the smell of alcohol around him was overwhelming.
“I was sitting about two rows away from him, and the smell of alcohol was very strong. I was about to vomit,” he said.
Flight attendants reportedly ordered the man to sit down, but he refused. Footage from the aircraft shows him standing in the aisle wearing only black boxers, shouting in Russian as stunned passengers and crew looked on.
Upon landing, the man allegedly rushed through the aircraft door and onto the mobile passenger stairs, where he fell and injured his leg. Despite the injury, he reportedly tried to escape by crawling under a nearby vehicle before being apprehended.
Airport officials later detained and questioned the passenger on charges including endangering an aircraft, resisting flight crew, and causing a public disturbance, according to Viral Press.
Chamsrio expressed sympathy for the passengers and crew forced to endure the ordeal.
“I have sympathy for everyone on the plane except this man,” he said. “Enough is enough with this kind of behavior.”