Hijack alert passenger is cleared
A passenger who sparked a security alert on a Virgin Australia flight has been cleared of any charges.
Matt Lockley, 28, was accused of interfering with a crew member during his flight from Brisbane to Bali in April, but a court in Brisbane found him not guilty.
The Australian had been handcuffed by crew after reportedly banging on the cockpit door, demanding entry.
The plane’s pilot sent a distress signal to Indonesia’s airport authorities, sparking a hijack alert, and Lockley was arrested by Indonesian troops at Bali.
But the judge found he was suffering with a medical condition and had suffered a panic attack, mistaking the cockpit door for the toilet door.
His defence lawyer said he had been anxious because he thought someone had tampered with his bags.
At the time of the incident, on April 25, Virgin had played down the alert, saying it was a ‘miscommunication’ and the passenger was ‘drunk’.
Brisbane magistrate Judith Daley ruled there was not sufficient evidence to suggest he intentionally knocked on the cockpit door.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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