17-year-old Prisoner Lunges At Pilot Mid-flight; Plane Turned Around

A charter plane transporting three young prisoners in Australia was forced to turn around after one of the detainees charged at the pilot.

The incident took place Wednesday when the charter flight was scheduled to transfer three 17-year-old detainees from Broome to Perth. Just minutes after take off, one detainee attempted to rush toward the pilot and started kicking the plane's structure, Corrective Services Commissioner Mike Reynolds told ABC Radio Perth on Thursday.

"A few minutes into the flight one of the detainees decided to get out of his seat and move towards the pilot," Reynolds said.

As soon as the first detainee began his chaotic actions, the other two also decided to join despite being in restraints as per protocols.

"The other two decided that would be a good idea as well, and started to play up," Reynolds added.

Five youth custodial officers onboard immediately regained control and no damage was caused to the plan, the department of justice said. However, the pilot decided to turn the plane around.

"He was restrained by a youth custodial officer and taken down because he continued to struggle, and once he was on the ground he started to kick at the plane infrastructure," Reynolds said of the detainee.

Upon reaching the airport, cops arrested the teen for instigating disturbance and charged him with assaulting a public officer and risking the safety of the plane.

"He obviously has very low impulse control. Nobody would suggest that lunging towards a pilot or kicking a plane's structure is a good idea, but that's what he decided," Reynolds added. "No suggestion that there was anything untoward with him, he just decided to act out."

The charter plane later transported the two other detainees to Perth. A second flight was scheduled with additional staff to bring the troublemaker back to Perth.

The 17-year-old was arrested for dangerously driving a stolen car through Broome on Monday, triggering a high-speed police chase through a local school and shopping mall.

Authorities noted a review of prisoner transport safety will be conducted after the incident. Mark McGowan, Western Australian Premier, described the incident as "very disturbing."

"This sort of extreme behavior is what we're dealing with and it's completely and utterly unacceptable ... I'm just glad there wasn't a tragedy."