A Virgin Australia Airlines flight en route from Brisbane to Bali, Indonesia, was forced to make emergency landing after the flight crew reported an attempted hijacking by a passenger.
The Boeing 737-800 was approximately 180 nautical miles away from Denpasar International Airport (about 30 minutes before the scheduled landing time), when a 27 year old Australian passenger, Matt Christopher Lockley, started banging at the cockpit door and tried to break in. The flight crew hand-cuffed him, took him to the cabin crew area and sent a mayday signal to the control towers in Makassar and Denpasar, indicating a possible hijacking attempt. The Bali airport authorities then prepared for an emergency landing protocol for the flight VA41, which was carrying 139 passengers and 6 crew members.
According to a Transport ministry official Herry Bakti, the emergency signal was received at about 2pm local time. The authorities from Virgin Australia confirm that the pilot had sent the standard signal code for ‘unlawful interference’, after which standard emergency response protocols were adopted.
The plane made an uneventful emergency landing and the Bali Police Chief, Inspector Benny Mokalu confirms that none of the passengers or crew members were harmed. The Indonesian military troops arrested Lockley, after the plane touched the ground.
Matt Christopher Lockley hails from Queensland, Australia and holds a driving license and a plumbing industry council card. The cabin crew reported that he looked ‘unstable’ and ‘paranoid’ during the flight. Police officials said that he claimed that he was hammering the cockpit door because he wanted to take some medicines from his luggage.
Heru Sudjatmiko, Virgin Australia’s Bali manager maintains that a drunk passenger tried to enter the cockpit which forced the emergency landing of the plane. It was not a hijacking attempt, it was a ‘miscommunication’. “I repeat, this is just a miscommunication. How the miscommunication occurred, I cannot answer because I wasn’t there. But it’s not true to say that the plane was hijacked…. I don’t know exactly what happened when the pilot communicated with the air traffic controller at Ngurah Rai,” he said.
Lockey is being investigated by the local police and it is not clear what charges will be made against him.
To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
The largest aircraft in the world completed its first “captive carry” test towing a hypersonic vehicle, which the manufacturer describes as a “significant” step towards the Mach 5-capable vehicle’s first autonomous flight. December 3 marked the maiden
To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
A man has life-threatening injuries after his plane crashed Wednesday morning in Taylor, Arizona – a town in Navajo County.
To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
A Cessna cargo aircraft, borrowed from FedEx by a Silicon Valley company, took off and…
To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
According to the Snowflake-Taylor Police Department, a 68-year-old man from Show Low was later taken to a Phoenix hospital with life-threatening injuries.
To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — It’s the formula for a box office thriller: The airplane’s pilots become incapacitated, and flight attendants ask passengers if there is anyone who can lan…
To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
A Providence-bound plane diverted in Florida, has made its way safely to T.F. Green Airport.The flight made an unscheduled landing when a man started talking ab
To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
Presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy Jr. flew on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s private plane more times than he’d earlier disclosed.
To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
MEDFORD, Ore. – Tuesday marked two years since a deadly plane crash at a car dealership and next to Medford’s airport. Police say two people in the plane and died. 69-year-old pilot Donald Sefton and his passenger 67-year-old Valorie Serpa. The NTSB is investigating the cause of the crash. It released a preliminary report a […]
To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
Private Jet Villa is one of the most unique hotels out there, with a plane wing deck, a balcony where the exit door used to be, and a hot tub in the cockpit.
To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
The US Space Force is launching its mysterious X-37B space plane on 10 December atop a Falcon Heavy rocket for what will probably be its highest and longest flight yet
To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
A travel expert has shared the disgusting truth about the blankets you get on planes, sharing that she only learned recently about it – and people will be horrified by it
To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
A flight from Orlando to Providence was diverted to Jacksonville after a couple was overheard talking about bombs during an argument
To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
Shannon Epstein, 26, was charged with one felony count of resisting police by force and two misdemeanor counts of disturbing the peace by public intoxication
To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
China’s military said it shadowed a plane that flew Wednesday over the Taiwan Strait, adding it will “resolutely defend national sovereignty and security.”
To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
A twin-engine Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche (registered F-BPIR) carrying three individuals crash-landed in Villejuif, France, an unusual incident as described
To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
Arguments over seat space are more common than you think. It’s a sore topic for many internet users who cannot believe how entitled some fellow passengers behave.
To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
A U.S. Navy patrol aircraft flew through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, the U.S. military said, describing the mission as a demonstration of the country’s commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
The U.S. 7th Fleet Public Affairs has confirmed the passage of a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon through the Taiwan Strait on December 6, adhering to international airspace protocols. This strategic transit, executed in accordance with international law, signifies the United States’ staunch support for the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations. It underscores the
To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
Air New Zealand said Wednesday it aims to become the first airline to fly an electric plane after announcing plans to have a battery-powered aircraft join its fleet in 2026.
To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
