BOMB THREAT TURNS AROUND MALAYSIA AIRLINES FLIGHT MH128
THE OFFENDER
* Manodh Marks, 25, from Sri Lanka.
* Living in Australia on a student visa, studying hospitality.
* Most recently lived in Dandenong, in Melbourne's southeast.
* Released from psychiatric care on Wednesday before buying a ticket to Kuala Lumpur.
* Charged with endangering the safety of an aircraft and making false threats.
* Does not apply for bail, will reappear in court on August 24.
WHAT HAPPENED?
MH128 took off from Melbourne, bound for Kuala Lumpur at 11.26pm
Minutes after take off, Marks screams he has a bomb and tries to enter the cockpit but is he's restrained by passengers; pilot turns the plane around and lands safely at Melbourne.
Armed police board the plane at 1.21am and arrest the man.
THE DEVICE
* Police say the man's device was a bluetooth speaker or something similar.
THE DELAY
* Passengers sat on the tarmac for 90 minutes, unsure if there was a bomb on their plane, before police boarded.
* Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton says police needed to take "all possibilities into account".
* Police thought the offender may have had accomplices or other explosive devices.
* "If we had an incident where there were further explosives that were triggered, we could have had a mass casualty incident. There were 337 passengers on that plane, plus crew." - Mr Ashton.
THE PASSENGERS
* "We were more worried about how long it has taken for the police to arrive. How long? How long? We could see them sitting outside." - Selena Brown.
* "If there was a bomb on that plane we should have been evacuated from it. Instead we sat there." - Stan Young.
* "(The offender) had eight shoes sitting on his face, his back and his legs... (they) jammed him in between the row and they stuck their feet on him." Former AFL player Andrew Leoncelli on 3AW.
* Passengers were searched and kept in an isolated terminal room for about eight hours before being released.
* Malaysia Airlines plans to help all passengers get to Kuala Lumpur.
Sources: Victoria Police, Australian Federal Police, Flight Aware, Malaysia Airlines, AAP file.
