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Airline Passenger Describes The Moment He Restrained Apparent Bomber

Airline Passenger Describes The Moment He Restrained Apparent Bomber

It sounds a scary experience.

James Dawson

James Dawson

A airplane passenger has described the moment he stepped in after a man threatened to blow up Malaysia Airlines flight MH128, telling the potential bomber to return to his 'fucking seat'.

Andrew Leoncelli, a former Australian Football League player, told ABC that he was sitting in the fourth row of the plane when he witnessed the incident.

Shortly after take-off, a man reportedly attempted to enter the airplane's cockpit.

"He started saying, 'I need to see the pilot. I need to see the pilot,'" Leoncelli said, adding that staff told the man to sit down and return to his seat.

"Then he started going louder: 'No, I need to see the pilot,' and got louder and louder and eventually they screamed for help," he continued.

It was then that Leoncelli decided to step in and confront the man, who was holding a large object. He described the object as being the 'size of a watermelon', with 'two sort of short, antenna things'.

"It looked like it had a socket for an iPhone to go into," he added.

"I said, 'Mate, get back to your fucking seat.'"

Credit: PA Images

The man holding the device responded by saying he was going to 'blow the fucking plane up'.

"He was a man on a mission and he was pacing from one foot to the other, like a cat on a hot tin roof," Leoncelli said.

The man then ran towards the back of the plane - Leoncelli explained how airline staff "basically jammed his head into the carpet and put the restraints things on him and then sat on him."

"I backed back to give him a bit of space and then the hostess stood up, so it was the two of us that had confronted him," he told 9news.

"That forced him down the aisle that he'd originally made his way up to the cockpit. Then she basically forced him, funnelled him down to the back of the plane, raising the awareness. A very quick-thinking, smart group of men jumped on top of him and disabled him. They're the true heroes - the hostess and the men at the back of the plane."

The incident forced the plane to return to Melbourne on Wednesday, with all passengers taken into a holding area to be interviewed.

The disruptive passenger, 25-year-old Sri Lankan national Manodh Marks, who it was discovered has a history of mental health issues, was detained by airport security upon landing.

Australian authorities are currently conducting an investigation. Marks is facing two charges for violating the Crimes (Aviation) Act and will appear in court for a committal hearing on 24 August.

Featured Image Credit: 9News

Topics: Plane, Bomb

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