Trouble on QF flight from MEL-Tassie??
 

Friend called from HK to say there are reports of trouble on a QF flight MEL-TASSIE. Rather not comment until something "repoted". Anyone heard.:confused:

It was a stabbing of two F/As and a pax on a MEL-LST flight:
News.com.au article
QF1737 MEL-LST is running three hours late

Hijack on QF1737
 

How did the pax get a aerosol can and a lighter on board the ac as reported. Stabbing also suggests a knife, how did that get through?

Here's the www.news.com.au story @ 01630 Thurs ...

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Stabbings on Qantas flight
May 29, 2003

TWO people were stabbed and two others injured aboard a Qantas flight from Melbourne to Launceston this afternoon, emergency services said.



Two flight attendants, a man aged in his late 30s and a woman aged in her 20s, were stabbed and had been taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Metropolitan Ambulance spokesman James Howe.

An Australian Federal Police spokeswoman said one man was in custody being interviewed.

Qantas flight QF 1737 was enroute to Launceston when there was a melee on board, forcing the aircraft to immediately return to Melbourne's Tullamarine airport.

The aircraft took off shortly before 3pm, according to reports.

Qantas have provided no details other than confirming the incident took place Mr Howe said the flight attendants were both in a stable condition with facial lacerations.

Two passengers were also treated by paramedics at the scene for minor injuries.

A man has been arrested at Melbourne Airport over an alleged stabbing on a Qantas flight between Melbourne and Launceston.

More to come

AAP

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It happened very soon after getting airborn; the aircraft didn't get outside of 30 Miles Melbourne. described as a security breach, local airport standby and AFP called.

Bottle of Rum

Press conference in approx 10mins, is there anyway to hear/watch it online??

Luca_brasi, the SMH site now has the Sky News report and John Anderson's response online at www.smh.com.au.

Thanks Bankstown, i guess its hit refresh every couple of minutes for the latest. The joys of being at uni with no TV. Hope all is safe and the offender gets prosecuted and severley punished.

Just on the news that a sharpened wooden tool was used in the stabbings. :* :*

"A sharpened wooden tool?"..........

Which one are you referring to,"John Anderson or Mick Toller?"

Hey guys,

Latest from the majors across the country:

Stabbings on Qantas flight
May 29, 2003

TWO flight attendants were stabbed and two other people injured when a man tried to force his way into the cockpit of a Qantas flight from Melbourne to Launceston this afternoon.
The attendants, a man aged in his late 30s and a woman aged in her 20s, were stabbed and had been taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Metropolitan Ambulance spokesman James Howe said.

They were described as being in a serious but stable condition.

Flight QF1737 was enroute to Launceston when there was a melee on board, forcing the aircraft to immediately return to Melbourne's Tullamarine airport.

Police surrounded the aircraft as soon as it landed. It had taken off shortly before 3pm.

Transport Minister John Anderson told reporters the attack was carried out with a sharp wooden implement.

He said the man tried to down the plane soon after it left Melbourne.

There was no evidence it was an act of terrorism.

There were almost 100 passengers aboard, and six to eight crew.

Australian Federal Police said a man was arrested shortly after the flight landed.

"We believe a male passenger was attempting to enter the cockpit and was subdued by flight attendants and passengers," a spokeswoman said.

"The flight had not long left Melbourne."

Mr Anderson said the suspect was an Australian aged in his 40s.

Mr Howe said the flight attendants were both in a stable condition with facial lacerations.

Two passengers were also treated by paramedics at the scene for minor injuries.

Melbourne man Joe De Costa, who was a passenger on the plane, said that the male attendant appeared to have been stabbed around the back of his head or neck.

Mr De Costa said the steward's back was covered in blood.

He said he believed the attacker produced two sharpened wooden objects.

Check out http://www.news.com.au for the latest.

Maybe he forgot his lunch and was going to ask the crew if they'd like to return to Tulla so he could grab his grub? :p

Cheers,

Souls.

Best wishes to the cabin crew for a speedy recovery. It sounded like the stabbings were more that just superficial. Another 2 (and perhaps many more) lives adversely affected and perhaps ruined by 1 sick, moronic lunatic.

LH :mad: :mad: :mad:

Will this event result in better (ie ANY) security measures at regional outports?
 

Probably not. :mad:

A wakeup call for security measures at all Australian airports.

The present measures are a joke :yuk:

STEWJWR

I guess lateral thinking is not your strong suit!

Ditzy Boy, not you I trust. Let us know.

Does this mean I can have my nail clippers back?
Security..what a joke!

Maybe a little hand-to-hand traning might be in order for F/A's.
Aikido perhaps?

Well done by the crew it would seem.
It will be VERY important that this idiot gets the maximum punishment available under the law.
No slaps on the hand for this one can be tolerated.
We can accept nothing less than ZERO tolerance to this or it will be open season.
:mad:

Well done to the brave crew, who, for their efforts were quite badly hurt.

I hope the pax and crew involved all come to terms with this incident, and recover fully.

Nasty stuff.


Someone asked the question regarding cigarette lighters and aerasol spray cans;
What can I say? I was at BNE domestic just a few days ago. I always carry a can of personal body spray in my handbag, and I happen to be a smoker. On this occasion I had 3 lighters in my bag.
Upon going through security, I was pulled aside and asked to remove 2 of the lighters and either bin them, or have my companions take one each in their bags.
Nurries. We proceed. I get back my lighters when we're upstairs and put them back in my bag.
I went downstairs a little while later to go to the ATM and had to come back through security. I decided I'd take all 3 lighters out of my handbag and pkace them in the trays provided for loose items.

Collected all 3 upon clearing the security screen ;)

As for the aerasol can in the bag, there was never a question raised.

I have been personally involved in other similar, inconsistant security screening at 2 other Major Australian airports.
They key word here being Inconsistant
Like all Macca's burgers come out looking the same, all security conditions should be followed in a uniform fashion throughout the industry.

AND THEY CURRENTLY ARE NOT!
Where's the quality contol? Who's running thins show, and should the airlines, and for that matter, the travelling public and staff working for the airlines, be expected to put up with second-class, relaxed security systems?

I should think the Airlines, considering the HUGE amounts of money they have to pour into security, would want to take a long hard look at just what is going on, and seek some realistic explainations and assurances of above-satisfactory standards in future.

How easy would it be to conceal a couple of wooden stakes about 15cm long?
I should think any jacket with sleaves would do the trick.
Perhaps the next step is to insist that pax remove all loose outer garmets prior to stepping through the security screen?
Too drastic? Perhaps :confused:


Whatever provoked this incident is beside the point when it comes to the issue of security.

All I can say from a personal stand is that I'm troubled when I see the inconsistancies of the securitiy measures in our airports.

I still choose to travel by air, it's just such a shame that I seem to quietly let out a small sigh of relief whenever I get to my destination now.......


Again, I'd like to wish the effected crew a speedy recovery, and a hopeful, bright future.
To all other crews out there tonight who might be feeling a bit, understandably uneasy, you are obviously trained well, and equipped to handle really sh!tfull situations, as was demonstrated by your colleques today.
You should feel proud of the jobs you do :ok:


And here's hoping that some things change rapidly as a result of this situation. Maybe, just maybe, it has highlighted how bloody precarious the situation is.


Regards
GG

Go Girl. :ok:

gaunty was almost down to his socks and undies the other night trying to get through the security thing. Not a pretty sight I promise you:yuk:
Must be all those cheap fillings.:{

Thing was I had emptied my pockets into the plastic thingy the contents of which contained a fairly expensive retractable tip 0.5mm propelling pencil which would have made a much more effective implement than a wooden stake. It sailed through the machine unchallenged and then waited patiently for me to get dressed, to be returned to my pocket.

Why a "fairly expensive retractable tip 0.5mm propelling pencil," ($80)?
Because I do a lot of sketching and drawing and I got sick to death of stabbing myself to death every time I put those sort of unretractable pencils back in my pocket. :rolleyes:

Nuh we got a way to go yet.

Well done indeed to the cabin crew. I hope they are not badly hurt, but it shows that they are professional to the Nth degree.

Well done also to the passengers that assisted.

Hopefully after the dropkick was subdued someone had the presence of mind to kick the living suitcase out of him.

I would also like to know the ethnic origon of this person who was reported as "Australian". Any clues if it was Bruce from down the road or otherwise?

Best all

EWL

Your man Dixon didn't look so flash tonight. Even making allowances for the shock that this type of crime causes, the man looked like he had another Sept 11 on his hands and he was to blame.
Babbeling on about cockpit door locks, dates for compliance etc. I think the gist of what he was saying was that : 'anyway even though the door on this aircraft wasn't compliant it was locked, and he didn't get in'.

Still, I would not discount his foresight. Heads will roll, and the fact that the lunatic was cunning enough to smuggle timber weapons aboard means, generally speaking the security services are in the clear.

I can report though that the profiling is going well (true story), 3 days ago I questioned security staff whether it was really necessary (it was) to do a pat down search of a lady in her seventies. It was her pacemaker you see, it kept making the thing go beep.

If the red-eyed serious looking fellow keeping both arms tightly by his side whilst conversing with himself rated a second look i coudn't say.

Older members can all tell tales of the times this type of criminal lunacy has occurred before in Australia, most famously with the F27 in Alice. For those that don't know the miscreant ended up dead in a ditch thanks in part to a brave young (in those days) instructor.

I would hope that this terrible episode is kept in perspective as one of those things that happen. That the heroic crew and passengers are duly acknowledged and next week we go about business as normal, accepting these things can happen and will be dealt with as and when they occur.

Plus a full audit of cockpit doors on whatever date Geoff reckons. (Jets that is)