A passenger has been charged with forcing his way onto an aircraft and assaulting a security officer at Sydney airport.
Pritheiraj Janardhan Kurapothula, an Indian national, is accused of deliberately opening an aerobridge door and boarding a plane at the Australian airport’s international terminal on October 28.
Flight crew members spoke to the man before he exited the jet and reportedly attacked a guard, leaving him unconscious.
Federal police officers arrested the 27-year-old and charged him with assault occasioning bodily harm and entering an airport security area without permission.
Kurapothula faces a maximum of five years’ imprisonment.
The suspect appeared before a local court on Wednesday, where his lawyer sought to have the charges dealt with on mental health grounds.
He requested more time to prepare documents to explore legal remedies under a section of the Mental Health Act exempting an individual from punishment if they were found to have been suffering from a mental or cognitive impairment.
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