A Malaysia Airlines flight was grounded on Wednesday night following a security incident in which a passenger claimed he was carrying a bomb and tried to gain entry to the cockpit, the airline and police said.
The flight from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur was turned back to Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport half an hour after takeoff after the captain was alerted to the “disruptive” and “threatening” passenger by cabin crew.
The man, who was carrying an unidentified black object at the time of the incident, was heard threatening to “blow up” the plane before he was pinned down and restrained with belts by fellow passengers on the plane.
“Ten minutes into the takeoff 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,” a passenger named Andy told Melbourne radio station 3AW.
“The staff were saying, ‘Sit back down, sir, sit back down, sir’.
“He goes, ‘No, I’m not going to sit back down — I’m going to blow the plane up’.
“The staff screamed out, ‘I need some help, I need some help’. So I jumped up, undid my buckle, and approached him.”
Former AFL player Andrew Leoncelli, who was sitting several seats away from the cockpit when the drama unfolded, also approached the “lunatic” passenger.
“Literally he was eyeball to eyeball with me saying he was going to blow the plane up,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“He looked like a lunatic.”
“For some reason he lost his nerve and he ran… and he headed towards the back of the plane. I hadn’t done anything to him except confront him,” he said.
Leoncelli then said two young Australian men on the plane were able to overpower the man.
Tullamarine Airport was placed into lockdown and flights were diverted immediately after the incident.
Victoria Police confirmed that the man was unable to gain entry to the cockpit.
“The man was subdued and a safety plan was enacted,” Senior Constable Adam West said in a statement.
“The plane landed safely at the airport and passengers are currently exiting the plane and speaking to investigators.”
“There appears to be no imminent threat to passengers, staff or public and the investigation is ongoing.”
The passenger has been apprehended by airport security.
