Video: Man kicked out of plane after he grabs pilot by collar, verbally abuses him

(Image credit: Screengrab from video tweeted by @FlightModeblog)

An abusive and violent passenger was kicked out of a plane in Australia earlier this week, the latest in a spate of incidents involving unruly travelers around the world.

The incident took place at the Townsville airport in Queensland and involved a Virgin Australia flight. A video of it was shared online by someone who was on the plane.

It showed the man grabbing the pilot by his shirt collar, while other crew members intervened to break up the fight. It is unclear what started the fight but the man who filmed the video said the passenger was likely drunk.

At one point in the video, he referred to the pilot as f***ing idiot".

The scuffle lasted for a few seconds, after which pilot, along with a crew member and another passenger, removed him from the plane.

Waring: The video below contains expletives

An unruly passenger was kicked out from the aircraft by Virgin Australia's pilot on flight between Townsville to Sydney.

Ben Mckay/TikTok#VirginAustralia #Australia #aviation #AvGeek #avgeeks #flights #Travel #traveler #pilotlife #pilot pic.twitter.com/vBtbmV7tKe

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— FlightMode (@FlightModeblog) January 5, 2023

He continued to hurl expletives, prompting the pilot to say "get the cops".

Queensland police officers intervened to take the man out of the airport, 7News Australia reported.

Later, the incident was reported to the Australian Federal Police.

Virgin Australia said in a statement that it had a zero tolerance for unruly behaviour on flights.

“Incidents are referred to the Australian Federal Police or state police where appropriate," a spokesperson for the airline was quoted as saying by the website.

Both the Queensland Police and Australian Federal Police are investigating the incident.