High-vis gear and stolen shotguns; inside the case against Jetstar teen

A photo of the alleged hijacking kit of the charged teen in the Avalon Airport security incident has been revealed.

The dismantled shotgun and other belongings taken from the 17yo that attempted to board a plane at Avalon Airport, before being detained by a passenger and pilot. Pictures: The Australian/9NEWS

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The RM Williams-style boots, high-vis vest, tool belt and industrial ear muffs look like they could have been dumped by any tradie at the end of a shift.

But on closer inspection, it becomes clear this pile sitting on the tarmac is the alleged hijacking kit of the teenager who is now behind bars facing a string of serious charges over the drama that unfolded on a Jetstar plane on Avalon Airport on Thursday afternoon.

A photo of the gear, obtained by The Australian, shows laying with the tradie tools are the stock and trigger and the double barrels of a 12-gauge shotgun the 17-year-old allegedly armed himself with.

And police are expected to investigate whether some of those yellow-handled tools sitting in the belt had been sharpened for use as potential weapons too.

All in all, it was a simple but perfect disguise for someone allegedly intent on grabbing an A320 with 160 passengers and crew on board.

The teenager allegedly got around the departure gate security screening with his arsenal of weapons by hiding in plain sight.

He drove his car to a perimeter fence and either cut his way in or crawled through an existing hole.

The dismantled shotgun and other belongings taken from the 17yo that attempted to board a plane at Avalon Airport on Thursday afternoon.

As the boy was walking about 500m across the tarmac towards JQ610, Barry Clark was taking his seat.

The shearer from Perricoota Station near Moama was looking forward to his flight to Sydney to watch the Swans v Hawthorn season opener on Friday.

Mr Clark says after climbing the stairs to the cabin, the teenager became angry when the Jetstar crew member challenged him and wouldn’t let him board the plane.

“He got agitated. Before we knew it, there was a shotgun appeared,” Mr Clark told the Herald Sun newspaper.

“He had other apparatus on him. I don’t know what his full intention was. It looked like he was trying to get into the cockpit, actually.

“You don’t think … you act. I didn’t want to see that poor girl (the flight attendant) get shot.”

Mr Clark grabbed the boy around the neck and, with the pilot, detained the teenager, slinging him to the floor of the plane.

Brave Jetstar passenger Barry Clark took down the would-be hijacker.

Police charge sheets released after the boy appeared in the children’s court on Friday allege he boarded the plane without authorisation while in possession of a longarm firearm “with the intent to prejudice the safe operation of an aircraft”.

The boy allegedly said “I’ve got bombs in my bag”, from which police allege “it could reasonably be inferred that it is his intention to destroy, damage or endanger the safety of the aircraft or to kill or injury all or any of the persons on board the aircraft”.

The charge sheets also reveal the boy placed at Avalon “a faux homemade explosive with the intention of inducing in another person a false belief that the article or substance is likely to explode or ignite or discharge a dangerous or deleterious matter”.

Police arrested a 17-year-old boy for trying to board a Jetstar flight at Avalon Airport with a loaded shotgun. Picture: Supplied

Police allege the boy had earlier that day stolen two 12-gauge shotguns and a rifle from Tourello, a western Victorian town approximately an hour and a half from Avalon Airport.

According to the charge sheets, the boy had at least two firearms on him at Avalon, including a “category B longarm”, and cartridge ammunition.

Before going to Avalon, the boy, who is a learner driver, also ­allegedly drove along Beach Road without a supervising driver.

Overall, Victoria Police charged the teenager with 12 offences on Friday morning, including unlawfully taking control of an aircraft, endangering the safe operation of an aircraft and endangering the safety of aircraft.

He was also charged with carrying dangerous goods on an aircraft, threat to the safety of an aircraft, a bomb hoax, possessing a firearm and traffic-related offences.

The shotgun. Picture: 9NEWS

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared in person in the Children’s Court before Judge Jack Vandersteen on Friday morning.

The boy wore a white shirt as he sat in the dock flanked by two police officers for the short hearing.

Judge Vandersteen noted it was the boy’s first time in custody and that he hadn’t made an application for bail, before adjourning the matter for mention on March 21.

“Do you have any questions?” Judge Vandersteen asked the boy, who spoke to say he did not, before he was led away by police officers.

A Victoria Police statement issued on Friday morning said officers were called to the airport after the teenager allegedly boarded the flight armed with a firearm about 2.20pm on Thursday.

“A 17-year-old boy was detained by crew and passengers on the flight,” the statement read.

“Police allegedly located two bags and a vehicle belonging to the boy,” it continued.

“The Bomb Response Unit were called to assist with the bags as a safety precaution.

“Fortunately no one was physically injured during the incident.”