DRAMA ON FLIGHT MH128
Sri Lankan man attempted to breach cockpit of plane taking off from Melbourne
A POTENTIAL disaster was averted when passengers on board Malaysia Airlines Flight MH128 from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur overpowered a man after he tried to breach the flight deck. The drama began 10 minutes into the flight, when the Sri Lankan tried to break into the cockpit, holding a power bank he claimed, contained explosives. Once the suspect was subdued, the flight diverted back to Melbourne where authorities immediately took him into custody.
AKuala Lumpur-bound Malaysia Airlines flight was forced to turn back to Melbourne when a passenger tried to break into the cockpit.
The man had threatened to detonate explosives on the plane before the captain was alerted by crew members to the attempted breach.
Several passengers, however, managed to overpower the Sri Lankan man before he was restrained and bound.
Reports said the “explosives” turned out to be a power bank.
The incident happened about 10 minutes into the flight, which took off at 11.11pm (Melbourne time).
The pilot of MH128 immediately made a turn back to Melbourne and landed at 11.41pm.
The Airbus A330, which was carrying 211 passengers, was then parked at a remote bay while waiting for security assistance.
Reports said Melbourne airport was also placed on security lockdown due to the incident and several flights were diverted to nearby airports.
Reports also quoted a woman whose boyfriend was a passenger as saying that the suspect had threatened to detonate explosives on the aircraft.
The man was said to have been confronted by passengers when he started making the threat.
He was overpowered when he ran to another part of the plane.
The man was detained by Australian airport security after the plane landed.
Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) director-general Datuk Seri Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said the incident was being handled by Melbourne and that DCA was monitoring the situation.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, in a Facebook posting late last night, said the flight had landed safely after being forced to turn back due to a disruptive passenger attempting to enter the flight deck.
“Australian Police are currently investigating the incident,” he said.
Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi said the suspect was believed to be drunk.
“MAS took the right decision to make a turn back as the safety of passengers is its priority,” he said.
Malaysia Airlines, which also issued a statement, said MH128 departed from Melbourne Airport at 11.11pm and was to arrive at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 5.28am.
Reports of the incident started making their rounds on social media moments after it happened. Many expressed relief that no one was injured.