Malaysia Airlines flight from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur returned to the airport 20 minutes after taking off last night after a passenger reportedly threatened to blow up the plane with a bomb.
The man attacked an air hostess shortly after take-off and attempted to enter the cockpit. Witnessed said he shouted: “I’m going to blow up this plane.”
The suspect was tackled by passengers and crew members and tied up with seat belts and makeshift handcuffs as the plane turned back to Melbourne airport.
Andrew Leoncelli, a former AFL star who was on the plane, told the Sydney Morning Herald the man was carrying a large black cylindrical object which looked like speaker with an on/off switch.
He said the man was “screaming” at the air hostess that he “needed to see the captain”.
“I’ve got a bomb and I’m going to f—— blow the plane up,” Mr Leoncelli quoted the man as saying.
A witness on board, named only as Andy, told the Australian 3AW radio: “We literally took off, ten minutes into the take off, and I was sitting in business class 4A seat, and I could hear this idiot saying that he wanted to go in and see the pilot.
Victoria Police said: “The man did not gain entry to the cockpit. The man was subdued and a safety plan was enacted.
“There appears to be no imminent threat to passengers, staff or public.”
Armed security officers boarded the plane, removed the disruptive passenger and escorted the other passengers back to the departures hall.