‘Bizarre behaviour’: Charges dismissed for man who tried to open plane doors mid-flight

Charges against a man who tried to open the doors of a plane mid-flight and assaulted a crew member have been dismissed for this reason.

A man who tried to open the doors of a plane mid-flight and assaulted a crew member who tried to stop him has had his charges dismissed after a court found he was suffering “adverse and unusual” effects of a drug he’d only just been prescribed.

Shadi Taiseer Alsaaydeh, a 47-year-old Jordanian national, in April tried to open the doors of a plane in the middle of a flight coming into Sydney from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

He was moved to another seat where he again tried to open one of the doors, assaulting an airline crew member as seven airline staff and passengers restrained him.

Mr Alsaaydeh pleaded guilty to charges of endangering the safety of aircraft and assaulting, threatening and intimidating the airline crew.

The offences can carry a maximum of 10 years imprisonment; however, magistrate Jennifer Atkinson dismissed the charges on Friday morning.

Charges against a man who tried to open the doors of a plane mid-flight and assaulted a crew member have been dismissed. Picture: NewsWire / James Gourley

Having spent more than two months in custody, Mr Alsaaydeh dialled into court through an audiovisual link, often sitting with his head down and wiping away tears.

The court was told how Mr Alsaaydeh had only recently been prescribed the sleeping medication Stilnox by a doctor before his flight to Australia, and it was likely side effects of the drug caused him to embark on the “terrifying” ordeal.

“This is different to a situation where you might have been on prescription medication for a long period … what happened on that flight likely was you suffering from one of the adverse and unusual side effects of that medication,” Ms Atkinson told the court.

Mr Alsaaydeh was arrested following the incident on the Sydney-bound plane. Picture: NewsWire / Dylan Coker

She said she had seen previous reports of “really bizarre behaviour” as a result of the medication, with a pharmacologist’s report revealing Mr Alsaaydeh’s actions as described by airline staff were consistent with the unusual side effects.

“The bizarre behaviour described by airline staff is entirely consistent with what is known as parasomnia or complex sleep behaviour associated with amnesia and hallucinations in which an individual engages in potentially dangerous actions, effectively in a sleep state, without any awareness or memory of any activity after recovering from the effects of the drug,” Ms Atkinson quoted from the report.

She said Mr Alsaaydeh had previously travelled overseas to represent the Jordanian government, he was “well regarded” in Jordan and had no criminal record. 

“But on the 5th of April you got on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney and you took Stilnox and other medication and what happened after that was incidents on the plane where you tried to open the door and where you assaulted cabin staff,” she said.

Mr Alsaaydeh nodded as Ms Atkinson said how it would have been a “terrifying time” for others on-board the plane.

Ms Atkinson ultimately dismissed the charges, with Mr Alsaaydeh set to leave Australia.

“It is inexpedient to inflict any punishment and without proceeding to a conviction I dismiss the charge,” she said.

Mr Alsaaydeh immediately stood and clasped his hands together upon her decision.

The offence can have a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment. Picture: NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

His lawyer, Daniel Petrushnko, told the court that his client had said “I want to go outside, I want to go home” as he tried to pry open one of the plane doors, and crew members described him as “falling, moving, often spaced out, swaying, confused and unresponsive”.

Mr Alsaaydeh had been travelling to Sydney with the permission of Jordan’s prime minister to attend a workshop, and letters from the Jordanian ambassador to Australia and his employer at the Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission indicated that he’d attended similar workshops across the globe.

He was suspended from work after the incident, and he cried in court as Mr Petrushnko said Mr Alsaaydeh would not be able to apply for government work if he was convicted.

The prosecutor argued a “clear message” needed to be sent that this behaviour would not be tolerated in her push for a conviction.

However, she submitted any additional jail time would not be appropriate.

Mr Alsaaydeh wrote letters of apology to the court, the Australian public, and the airline crew, which Ms Atkinson noted in her decision.

“I am satisfied that you are very sorry for what has happened,” she said.

“Yours is a very unique case … but people need to understand that if they get on a flight and try to open the door, or they assault other people, this is taken very, very seriously.”

Boxes of Stilnox contain a warning in Australia advising that the drug “may be associated with potentially dangerous complex sleep-related behaviours which may include sleep walking, sleep driving, and other bizarre behaviours”.

Originally published as ‘Bizarre behaviour’: Charges dismissed for man who tried to open plane doors mid-flight