A Malaysian Airlines plane has been forced to turn back to Melbourne airport after a passenger tried to enter the cockpit. Flight MH128, bound for Kuala Lumpur, was forced to return “due to a disruptive passenger”, a statement from the airline said. Th e captain turned the plane around after being alerted to a “passenger attempting to enter the cockpit”. Th e plane has landed safely and has requested security assistance.
Malaysia’s Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai also confi rmed the fl ight had “landed safely after being forced to turn back due to a disruptive passenger attempting to enter fl ight deck”. Aviation analyst Alex Macheras tweeted that the passenger claimed to have explosives, citing air traffi c control radio – a report which is still unconfi rmed. Th e statement from Malaysian Airlines said the plane was in the air for just 30 minutes of its eight-hour fl ight time before landing. Flight tracking website FlightRadar24, however, said the plane was airborne for just 14 minutes.
