Register - WIN a $10,000 Safari | Login

Flight scare under-investigated: Opposition

July 17, 2004 - 4:55PM

A violent incident onboard a Perth flight bound for Bali was not being properly investigated, the federal opposition said today.

A passenger on the June 30 flight allegedly told fellow passengers that he had explosives and wanted to crash the aeroplane, killing everyone onboard.

The 31-year-old NSW man allegedly walked towards the cockpit before being felled by another passenger, who choked him until he was unconscious.

The man was held by Balinese authorities at Denpasar airport for several hours when the plane landed, but was released without charge.

He was now believed to be in Europe.

Australian Federal Police (AFP) are investigating the incident but opposition transport spokesman Martin Ferguson said not enough was being done by the airline, Garuda.

''From all reports, we've got a complete stuff-up in terms of Garuda's failure to fully inform the police,'' Mr Ferguson told ABC Radio.

''I think Garuda has to give an explanation to Australian authorities because surely it raises questions about their method of operation in terms of meeting what we regard as appropriate standards in the fight against terrorism and airline incidents.''

Advertisement Advertisement

It is understood the report Garuda gave police did not mention the threat to bomb the plane.

A spokesman for Garuda Australia told ABC Radio the company treated the situation extremely seriously.

However, he would not confirm exactly what was reported to police in Indonesia.
