A couple from Kent have spoken of the "random" moment a woman allegedly made a dash for the cockpit door during their flight to Turkey.

Chance Lewis-Donnelly and Stewart Brown from Deal were about eight rows behind the 25-year-old when she began "kicking off" being "abusive, swearing and then trying to hit the staff."

Her unruly behaviour prompted two RAF Typhoon fighters to be scrambled to intercept the aircraft - creating a sonic boom heard 40 miles away in their race to escort the plane back to Stansted Airport.

The passenger, who is believed to have been on board with her grandmother, was restrained until she was escorted off the aircraft by Essex Police.

She remains in custody after being arrested on suspicion of two assaults and endangering an aircraft.

Miss Lewis-Donnelly told KentOnline: "She complained about their seats when they first got on the plane as her grandmother was uncomfortable but she seemed fine then and fairly polite as a couple swapped seats with her.

"We were delayed on the runway so we were sitting there for a while. I noticed her go to the toilet and at that point she was fine.

"About 10 to 15 minutes later she started kicking off, hitting the seat in front of her and shouting.

"She then stopped and we took off.

"At this point I don’t think the cabin crew had seen her. As we took off she started shouting and singing again. The cabin crew asked her to stop but she continued.

"Eventually she became abusive, swearing and then trying to hit the staff.

"She walked down the aisle and was attempting to open the cockpit door.

"She was restrained by cabin crew and passengers.

"The crew decided we needed to divert and contacted air traffic control who thought we needed assistance so scrambled the military jets, and all the while she was being restrained by passengers.

"She was escorted off the plane by police when we landed but the police had her on the runway for a while causing further disruptions.

"We were around eight rows back but most of the commotion happened at the front of the plane so I couldn’t hear what was being said, only her shouting.

"She seemed drunk or drugged but as we hadn’t got far enough for the inflight bar to open we were all confused.

"Jet2 arranged for a plane from Manchester to come for us so we had to disembark the plane, go back through customs and then we later got on the plane at 9.20pm.

"This was also delayed so we took off around 10.30pm - six hours later than originally planned.

"20 hours after leaving the house we arrived at the hotel.

"We had a shower and got straight on the sunbed at 7.30am this morning."

Her partner Mr Brown, a 36-year-old mobile DJ, added: "She seemed absolutely fine before take off but then strangely very drunk or drugged as we took off.

"The stewards gave her several chances and did the best they could before she became abusive and then made a dash for the cockpit and had to be restrained by staff and passengers."

Jet2 is still working to ensure other passengers can reach their destination.

A spokesperson said: “We are aware of an incident regarding an extremely disruptive passenger on a flight from Stansted to Dalaman yesterday.

"The aircraft has returned safely and we are liaising with the relevant authorities to support their investigation. We are working hard to ensure the remaining customers reach their destination as soon possible.”

The assisting jets were scrambled from RAF Coningsby in Lincoln.

People living near Stansted phoned police to report a loud noise which many mistook for an explosion.

Former Deal resident Nadine Walker who now lives 13 miles from the airport in Harlow, Essex, said: "We thought it was bomb or a car had blown up. It was so loud!

"It made our windows shake and it set off car alarms in our street."

The noise was a sonic boom - created when supersonic aircraft accelerate through the sound barrier.

Police in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, tweeted: "Large number of 999 calls coming in about a loud explosion.

"We have liaised with @EssexPoliceUK who are confirming that this is a sonic boom from a passing aircraft."

A spokesman for Essex Police said: "We were made aware of a disruptive passenger on an inbound flight to Stansted on Saturday, June 22.

"There is a possibility that residents nearby may have heard a loud noise, often associated with a sonic boom, as the aircraft descended into Stansted airspace.

"Officers attended and arrested a 25-year-old woman on suspicion of two assaults and endangering an aircraft."

The woman remains in custody.

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