Man threatens to kill passengers onboard QF29 from MEL

[serfty]

Passenger tells of mid-air Qantas flight terror:

Passenger tells of mid-air Qantas flight terror | Herald Sun

Passenger tells of mid-air Qantas flight terror

Lucie van den Berg From: Herald Sun October 07, 2010 11:44AM

... A RANTING man threatened to kill terrified passengers onboard a Qantas flight from Melbourne to Hong Kong overnight.

"I'm going to kill myself, you will all die," he screamed ...

Flight attendants were forced to restrain the man during the mid-air terror.

...

A flight attendant, who calmed passengers, told them that the man began praying before becoming extremely aggressive.

Helen, who was seated in Premium Economy, said he had threatened to open the door, saying it would be “God’s will.”

...

The terrifying ordeal occurred several hours after the plane took off from Melbourne, shortly before midnight.

...

“The male cabin crew apparently held him down and then they cuffed him and put him in a seat with curtains around him and he had a couple of crew members with him with the rest of the flight.”

A Qantas spokeswoman confirmed that there was an incident on QFO29 from Melbourne to Hong Kong where “a passenger became disruptive.”

“Hong Kong authorities met the aircraft on arrival,” she said.

She said cabin crew were trained and equipped to deal with these types of situations to ensure that passenger safety was not compromised. ...

 

[markis10]

No air marshall on that flight, or where they sleeping in F?

 

[MelUser]

Nothing to worry about - I suspect just a Platinum FF annoyed with changes to the FF program!

 

[tuapekastar]

Nothing to worry about - I suspect just a Platinum FF annoyed with changes to the FF program!

 

[samh004]

No air marshall on that flight, or where they sleeping in F?

First thing I thought too.

Not exactly ideal for him to be arrested in Hong Kong, he’ll find them a bit tougher there But his tough luck, clearly he deserves it.

 

[markis10]

First thing I thought too.

Not exactly ideal for him to be arrested in Hong Kong, he’ll find them a bit tougher there But his tough luck, clearly he deserves it.

Pity the plane was not going to SIN!

 

[samh004]

Pity the plane was not going to SIN!

He might have been in some real strife then.

I notice the link is to this thread, so here’s another, although it says very little.

'You will all die': Qantas staff restrain passenger

 

[milehighclub]

The air marshall program out of Australia is not as big as it is in the US.

Their first reaction is generally to do nothing anyway as I imagine would of been the case if there had been one onboard.

 

[markis10]

The air marshall program out of Australia is not as big as it is in the US.

Their first reaction is generally to do nothing anyway as I imagine would of been the case if there had been one onboard.

I dont think anyone was inferring it was bigger, however as a consumer I would have the expectation that there was a reasonable chance of one being on board given they number around 100 in total, making it a possible expectation rather than a probable one.

 

[anat0l]

He wants to die? Allow me, I will gladly kill this idiot. :evil:


I'm supposing he is trying to find a 'good' lawyer. You know, one of those that tells the client to plead insanity or out of character....

 

[dajop]

I would have the expectation that there was a reasonable chance of one being on board given they number around 100 in total, making it a possible expectation rather than a probable one.

Ok, what's the math then? Simplistically - 100 means at any given time there could be 8 on annual leave. That's 92. Assuming 40 hr week - that is 4 shifts to span 24/7. So at any given time you could have about 20-23marshalls on duty. Does it span domestic & international? If just international there are how many flights day from MEL/SYD/BNE/ADL/PER, bearing in mind it's not just QF that participates in the program, it includes SQ and other carriers as well. So looking at MEL alone, SQ/QF/CX/TG/MH there's 14 inbound, 14 outbound a day, excluding flights to NZs... so the probability of one being on board must actually be quite low, even if there were 100 dedicated solely to MEL flights.

 

[rwatts]

I dont think anyone was inferring it was bigger, however as a consumer I would have the expectation that there was a reasonable chance of one being on board given they number around 100 in total, making it a possible expectation rather than a probable one.

Presumably if a marshall had been on board the only contribution they could really add would be their weapon. Provided the cabin crew were coping the marshall would probably be best just watching, and checking for any sign of accomplices.

Richard.

 

[marki]

Nothing to worry about - I suspect just a Platinum FF annoyed with changes to the FF program!

 

[samh004]

In fact there’s nothing thus far to suggest he was a radical terrorist. He may have just been scared of flying and drunk a little, and then thought he was going to die so became erratic.

One of the reports seemed to dispute that he was praying before he started acting odd.

We’ll have to wait for more details.

 

[markis10]

Presumably if a marshall had been on board the only contribution they could really add would be their weapon. Provided the cabin crew were coping the marshall would probably be best just watching, and checking for any sign of accomplices.

Richard.

Given their role is to deal with threats to an aircraft's safety I doubt it would have been a passive role, who knows, its in our interests to not know to be frank, the less information out there in this case the better, however a threat to open a door is a significant one not to be taken lightly. Next time you are on a plane have a close look at your fellow passengers, the haircut can often be a good indication of someone's ability to assist in similar situations, no matter what their title or job is officially.

 

[yohy?!]

No charge for the man from HK police.

Love that SMH headline from earlier today: QF29 "You're All Going To Die!"

 

[markis10]

Ok, what's the math then? Simplistically - 100 means at any given time there could be 8 on annual leave. That's 92. Assuming 40 hr week - that is 4 shifts to span 24/7. So at any given time you could have about 20-23marshalls on duty. Does it span domestic & international? If just international there are how many flights day from MEL/SYD/BNE/ADL/PER, bearing in mind it's not just QF that participates in the program, it includes SQ and other carriers as well. So looking at MEL alone, SQ/QF/CX/TG/MH there's 14 inbound, 14 outbound a day, excluding flights to NZs... so the probability of one being on board must actually be quite low, even if there were 100 dedicated solely to MEL flights.

Resonable chance means not lotto odds , at the end of the day we have no idea how many marshalls are around, their working conditions or how many other countries law enforcement officers are onboard.

No charge for the man from HK police.

Love that SMH headline from earlier today: QF29 "You're All Going To Die!"

Maybe thats an indication of the real truth without the spin from the press.

 

[rwatts]

Given their role is to deal with threats to an aircraft's safety I doubt it would have been a passive role, who knows, its in our interests to not know to be frank, the less information out there in this case the better, however a threat to open a door is a significant one not to be taken lightly.

While a threat to open a door certainly indicates a problematic passenger who could injure other passengers or crew, it discounts somewhat the danger they pose overall compared to the type of people the marshalls are intended to deal with (ie those who have done their homework).

Meanwhile no charges from the HK police ? Hmmmmm.

Richard.

 

[markis10]

While a threat to open a door certainly indicates a problematic passenger who could injure other passengers or crew, it discounts somewhat the danger they pose overall compared to the type of people the marshalls are intended to deal with (ie those who have done their homework).

Meanwhile no charges from the HK police ? Hmmmmm.

Richard.

Regardless they are still a threat to the aircraft's safety as far as the law is concerned, a threat to an aircraft is still a threat even if it is doomed to failure, and who is to say what they may have decided to do next? Glad I was not on that flight.

 

[samh004]

Maybe thats an indication of the real truth without the spin from the press.

I sort of think he might have been a nervous flyer, hopefully we get the truth at some point.