The passenger who caused a serious hijack scare and was dragged out of a plane by armed police has walked free from a Bali police station without any charges.
Police say they believe that 28-year-old Australian plumber Matt Lockely made an honest mistake when he banged on the cockpit door of the Virgin plane because he believe the toilet was located there.
Lockely informed the police that he was flying from Brisbane to Bali in an attempt to save his marriage to an Indonesian woman.
“He has not been charged,” said a police spokesman. “He is free to leave.”
Lockely had informed the authorities that he had consumed four Panadol tablets, two Voltaren (used a painkiller or to treat inflammation) and drunk only two cans of Coca Cola at the Brisbane airport before boarding flight VA41 to Bali.
He also insisted that he slept during most of the flight, but when he was woken by the crew for a meal, he believed he had lost his bag. Lockely started talking to a woman in the neighbouring seat before deciding to go to the toilet.
“He thought the cockpit was the toilet and was making quite a bit of a racket trying to get in,” said police spokesman Hery Wiyanto.
Due to that, the pilots — Captain Neil Cooper and co-pilot Ryan Stockwell, reportedly raised the alarm about a hijack attempt. However, there have been suggestions that the wrong alarm button was pressed.
This lead into a major police and military operation, with armed officers waiting for the plane to land while Lockely was grabbed by crew members, handcuffed and made to sit on a seat at the back of the aircraft.
Planes were not allowed to leave Denpasar airport, while others were put in a holding pattern or diverted to other cities.
Armed officers boarded the plane when it landed and dragged Lockley out.
Other armed officers kept rifles trained on him as he was led down the aircraft steps and into the terminal.
There were suggestions that if Lockley was found to have been drinking and had genuinely tried to break into the cockpit, he would have been charged with causing an affray on an aircraft and could have faced several years in jail before being deported.
