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Malaysia Airlines flight returns to Melbourne after passenger tries to enter cockpit
 [Reuters] May 31 A Malaysia Airlines flight from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur returned to the Australian airport shortly after take off late on Wednesday after a passenger attempted to enter the cockpit, authorities said.Passengers and the crew of Flight MH128 had to tackle the man and tie him up with seat belts until the flight landed, one witness told Reuters. The plane landed safely and the man was apprehended by airport security, said Malaysia Airlines, which is still recovering from two major airline disasters in recent years. The airline stressed in a statement that the flight had not at any point been hijacked. Flight MH128 returned to Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport "after the operating captain was alerted by a cabin crew of a passenger attempting to enter the cockpit", the statement said. It had departed at 11:11 p.m. Melbourne time and returned at 11:41 p.m. "Malaysia Airlines together with the Australian authorities will be investigating the incident," the statement added. Passengers disembarked safely from the aircraft and those affected were offered the next available flight or flights via other carriers, the airline said. Arif Chaudhery, a passenger on board MH128, told Reuters that about 30 minutes into the flight a male passenger attacked a female member of the cabin crew who screamed out for help. "Some passengers and crew grabbed the man and tackled him to the floor," Chaudhery said, adding that seat belts were used to tie the man's hands. "We were very lucky. It could have been worse." Posted by: Besoeker 2017-05-31 |
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