Drunk man causes hijacking alert on Virgin flight

An Australian man is under arrest after allegedly causing a hijacking alert on a flight bound for the Indonesian island of Bali Friday.

Metro TV reports the plane's flight crew said the 28-year-old man was drunk and started pounding on the cockpit door mid-flight.

Fortunately, he didn't make it inside. According to NBC, members of the flight crew were able to handcuff the man shortly after the pilot told ground control there was a possible hijacking attempt.

And soon after the plane landed, CNN was one of many news outlets able to confirm the man was not able to get into the cockpit.

Few reports are naming the man who allegedly banged on the cockpit door, but The Sydney Morning Herald says a Bali Air Force commander has identified him as 28-year-old Matt Christopher Lockley.

It's the "hijacking" call that had tensions so high for what ended up being a relatively uneventful incident.

When the pilot sent the distress signal from the air, Indonesian authorities on the ground interpreted it as an actual hijacking.

The BBC points out a Virgin Airlines official said the hijacking scare was a "miscommunication." The distress signal was sent out about an hour before the flight landed.

The Telegraph notes a passenger on the plane said the airport in Bali was briefly closed after it landed Friday. Lockley was arrested shortly after the flight touched down.

No one on the flight was hurt. NBC reports the authorities in Indonesia are interrogating Lockley, but flights at the airport in Bali are now back up and running.