In a surprising turn of events, a video capturing a Black woman strolling on the tarmac at an Australian airport has left viewers astounded. Her frantic dash was attributed to her fear of missing her flight.
The footage showcases the woman’s desperate attempt to flag down a departing QantasLink Airline pilot, who was in the process of taking off on a flight bound for Adelaide from Canberra.
This incident, characterized as “bizarre” by an eyewitness, featured the woman energetically trying to capture the pilot’s attention, even resorting to waving her arms to halt the aircraft’s departure.
Simon Hales, an onlooker at the scene, explained:
“She’s trying to yell at the pilot. She’s trying to get his attention and jump up or something,” in a post on Facebook
According to a report by 9News, Hales also noted that the woman managed to evade security measures, allowing her access to the tarmac. Thankfully, the vigilant pilot was alerted to the situation and promptly deactivated the engine.
Dennis Bilic, another witness who recorded the viral video, described the puzzlement that enveloped those present.
“People were a bit flat-footed; they didn’t seem to know what to do. That was the weird part. [We were thinking], ‘Is anyone gonna stop her?'” Bilic shared with the news outlet.
This unexpected occurrence unfolded on a Wednesday at Canberra Airport, with the woman remaining unidentified. She was subsequently arrested, charged, and taken into custody, subsequently appearing in court on a Friday. The Australian Federal Force has initiated an investigation into the incident.
This peculiar scenario echoes similar incidents in the United States, including a man’s arrest in Burbank Hollywood Airport, California, for trespassing onto the tarmac last year. In another instance, an inebriated woman was apprehended in 2021 for wandering onto the tarmac at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona.
It was reported that she had accessed the area through an emergency door. In 2018, a man was detained at Corpus Christi International Airport in Texas under comparable circumstances. During their inquiry, law enforcement discovered that the individual had legally owned firearms in his vehicle, resulting in charges of criminal trespassing.
The Corpus Christi airport spokesperson commented on the 2018 incident, saying:
“We are taught and trained to report anything we see that looks suspicious. An airport tenant did just that and started a response into motion that followed all airport protocols.”
