A passenger who had missed his flight dashed out onto the runway at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport, in an attempt to stop his plane from taking off, a source in one of the airlines that the airport serves told TASS on Thursday, adding that the aircraft’s captain had to pull the emergency brakes.

"A passenger who had missed a Pobeda flight yesterday dashed out onto the tarmac to chase down the Pobeda aircraft, eventually jumping in front of it. The aircraft’s captain saw him and pulled the emergency brakes. The culprit was detained by the aviation’s security service," the source said.

"We confirm this information, and an investigation is underway, following which the perpetrator will have to pay compensation for the mandatory expenses," a Vnukovo airport source said.

A Pobeda airline representative, in turn, told TASS, "The captain noticed a man on the runway and pulled the emergency brakes, bringing the engines to a halt, so that no one was hurt." The perpetrator was detained by the aviation’s security service and taken to a nearby police precinct but the authorities let him go since according to them, there was no crime in his actions, the airline added.