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Virgin Australia plane held at Bali airport

Date April 25, 2014 - 6:16PM

Virgin Australia plane forced to land

A drunk passenger has caused the closure of Bali's airport when a Virgin Australia pilot reported a hijacking attempt. Nine news.


Update: A drunk passenger caused the closure of Bali's airport when he attempted to enter the cockpit of a Virgin Australia flight from Brisbane to Denpasar, prompting the pilot to report a hijacking attempt.
Virgin Australia airport manager at Ngurah Rai, Heru Sudjatmiko said a drunk passenger on board flight VA41 had tried to enter the cockpit of the plane but had been stopped by the crew.
The man was handcuffed and put into a rear seat of the Boeing 737-800, which landed safely.
A Virgin Plane being held on the runway at Bali Airport after a drunk passenger tried to force his way into the cockpit. Photo: Chris Corless via Twitter

Police chief Suhardi Alius said the perpetrator was in custody and being interrogated.
Earlier, the Indonesian military confirmed it was responding to reports of a hijacking.
Mr Heru said this was "clearly a miscommunication". The pilot himself had told air traffic control that the plane was hijacked, and sent a distress call.
The passenger was tackled by Virgin Australia crew and handcuffed before the plane landed. Photo: Peter Rae

"I don't know why that happened," Mr Heru said.
A Virgin Australia spokesman in Australia also confirmed there had not been a hijacking.
The head of the Indonesian National Police detective unit said police "already have one perpetrator he's now being interrogated".
Perth man Chris Corless was at Denpasar's airport when the incident occurred.
"My wife and I were waiting for our flight and just noticed planes weren't departing," Mr Corless said.
"Then the Virgin flight landed and was escorted immediately to the tarmac opposite the terminal.
"Security surrounded the plane and then there was some movement then security left and the plane taxied to a normal gate. All said and done in 30 minutes.
"Sounds like it wasn't serious, security didn't take long to clear the situation."

Peter Lemkin Wrote:One has to be VERY drunk indeed...as any idiot knows that today breaking into the pilot's cabin can get you many, many years in prison...no matter what your 'excuse'.