Late last night, Malaysia Airlines flight MH128 took off from Melbourne bound for Kuala Lumpur, however within 30 minutes a man with a history of mental illness tried to storm the cockpit, while shouting that he had a bomb.
He was restrained by crew and passengers, and the flight turned back to Tullamarine airport, where elite officers stormed the plane, removed the man and inspected the aircraft for any explosive devices. None were found, and after sitting on the tarmac for over 2 hours, passengers were told that they would be put in hotels, and their flights rescheduled.
Passengers reported that the man appeared to be holding an electronic device, while claiming that he had a bomb. However, Malaysian Deputy Transport Minister Abdul Aziz Kaprawi said the man, appeared to have been drunk, and only had a powerbank with him. He went on to stress to the AFP that, “it is not a hijack. One disruptive passenger tried to enter the plane’s cockpit.”
Reports emerged today that the man had just been released from a psychiatric facility, where he had voluntarily checked himself in. Upon leaving treatment, he purchased a KL-bound plane ticket, and so the story of his psychotic breakdown unfolded.
Victoria Police have described that the incident occurred just 4km out of Melbourne, when during take-off, the man started shouting that he had a bomb, while unbuckling his belt and moving towards the cockpit. At this point air traffic control was alerted by the MH128 crew that a passenger was attempting to enter the cockpit. Three minutes later, the same crew member told air traffic control that the passenger claimed to have a bomb, but had been overpowered by passengers.
Drew Ambrose, a passenger on the flight who helped restrain the man, told SBS World News that the passenger had been behaving erratically and did not appear to have a plan. Another passenger put the man, who is described as a Sri Lankan national, in a choke hold, while the other passenger hog-tied his legs with belts, and he was placed in the back of the plane.
Ambrose says that upon arrival, authorities searched the plane, and confirmed there were no explosives.
The Age is reporting that police took over an hour to enter the plane after it had landed, with many of the passengers aboard still worried that there was a bomb. A source has told them that “the delay was partly caused by the failure of an on-call officer to respond to an emergency message. Officers responding to the crisis were further held up, after being unable to locate firearms and body armour.” Yikes.
On the ground, Victoria Police Superintendent Tony Langdon told reporters that the suspect had a history of what would be described as mental illness. And “We do not believe this is terrorist-related at the moment.”
The incident caused a huge disruption to Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport, with flights diverted to Avalon airport, and as far as Tasmania. The perimeter of the airport was also momentarily placed on lockdown, to secure the area. Passengers the following morning reported a heavy police presence.
