Police charge Bali ‘hijack’ passenger
An Australian plumber who caused a hijack alert on a plane heading for Bali when he banged on the cockpit door has been charged over the midair incident.
Matt Lockley, who has said he mistook the cockpit of the Virgin Australia jet for the toilet, was released by Indonesian authorities on Sunday without charge and arrived back in Australia early Tuesday where he was met by police.
A federal police statement said the 27-year-old had been served notice to appear at Brisbane Magistrates Court on June 6 “in relation to an incident on a flight between Brisbane and Bali on Friday April 25”.
He faces one charge of interfering with a crew member.
Security forces in Bali rushed to the airport as the Boeing 737-800 touched down, after the pilot reported a hijack attempt when someone started banging loudly on the cockpit door.
Lockley was dragged off the plane by the heavily armed security forces and the airport was briefly shut down, causing several planes to be diverted to other Indonesian airports.
Virgin Australia defended the pilot’s action in activating a hijack alarm, saying the pilot’s response to the incident was in line with international air safety regulations.
Ian Jarrett
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