Malaysia Airlines flight MH128 departing from Melbourne, Australia, was forced to reverse course after a passenger allegedly tried to enter the cockpit and threaten to bomb the plane.
The MH128 flight was headed for Kuala Lumpur late Wednesday, but returned to Melbourne Airport less than an hour after it took off after a disruptive passenger tried to enter the cockpit, according to Fox News.
"He was the one who first confronted him when an air hostess was getting scared of this guy and that's when the guy said "I'm going to blow up this plane", she said.
In a statement, Malaysia Airlines said following the incident, all passengers had safely disembarked the aircraft.
"Everyone on board is safe".
Police said the incident was not terrorism-related and a 25-year old man, understood to be an Australian citizen, had been taken into custody. "Safety and security are of Malaysia Airlines' utmost priority".
The crew returned to Melbourne and performed an overweight landing on Runway 16 about 15 minutes after departure and was located at a remote part of the airport.
He has told radio station 3AW how he could hear the man saying that he wanted to see the pilot and arguing with the crew when they asked him to sit down.
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"However we'd like to land and have the device checked", the voice reportedly said.
The passenger has been apprehended by airport security.
Travellers were only ten minutes into their journey when a mentally-ill passenger stated that he had a bomb.
The charges include recklessly endangering the safety of an aircraft, make threats or false statements and threatening to destroy, damage or endanger the safety of an aircraft or kill or injure anyone on board.
The Age reported that former AFL player Andrew Leoncelli was on the plane, seated in business class, when he saw a man carrying a large black cylindrical object run towards the cockpit.
Passengers are expected to depart Melbourne at 20:00 and arrive in Kuala Lumpur at 02:35 local time the next day.
Police superintendent Tony Langdon said the flight crew also played a part in tackling the man.
Melbourne's Tullamarine airport was briefly closed during the incident but has since reopened, airport authorities said.
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