A Malaysia Airlines plane just returned to Australia after a passenger threatened to detonate a bomb while inside the plane. It was then found out that the passenger was mentally ill who also attempted to enter the cockpit before he was tied up and tackled by flight crews and some passengers.
It was reported that the passenger who was mentally ill is a 25-year old Sri Lankan man who was just discharged from a psychiatric clinic. After his release from the hospital, it was learned that he reserved a flight and purchased a ticket heading to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
According to ABC News, the police and the authorities discovered that the Malaysia Airlines plane was already about 10 minutes from Melbourne when the Sri Lankan man headed to the cockpit door while clutching a device. Together with this, he also started to threaten to blow up the said plane which made the passengers panic.
After that, the passengers, as well as the light crews, tied him up with the use of the belts. Then with regards to the device, he was holding, it was discovered that it was an amplifier-type of an instrument while one passenger identified it as a portable music player.
Some of the passengers noticed that the man who was discovered to be mentally-ill shouted that he would blow up the plane they even noticed that he was nervous and restless upon doing it.
Because of this, the authorities credited the passengers particularly the flight crews who successfully subdued the suspect for a fear that it will create more tension and panic. It was also considered that the actions of the crew and the passengers were somewhat heroic.
After the plane returned to Australia, Fox News reported that the passengers were asked to remain inside for about 90 minutes. The authorities and bomb experts searched for possible bombs at a distant part of the airport. They also confirmed that the man or the suspect was not related to any terrorist groups, only that he is mentally ill.
Because of the said incident, some suggested that mentally ill passengers should be banned from flying. The passengers who were stranded for the ordeal were also offered government support.
