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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Eternalknight" data-source="post: 910310" data-attributes="member: 1075">Plan 'to crash Qantas plane'29may03A MAN who stabbed two flight attendants on board a Qantas flight from Melbourne to Launceston had intended to crash the plane, Transport Minister John Anderson said today.Mr Anderson said it was not an attempted act of terrorism, but the singular actions of one man. He said the man had taken a sharpened stick on board which he used to try to enter the plane's cockpit. Qantas staff and some passengers subdued the man. "I can only say on that on the information available to me at this point in time it does not, although it looks like it was premeditated, it doesn't appear to have been an act of terrorism," he said. "At this point in time, I feel reasonably competent to say that it does not appear to have been an act of terrorism." There were almost 100 passengers aboard, and six to eight crew. Mr Anderson the man was an Australian aged in his 40s. He said the man tried to down the plane soon after it left Melbourne airport. "Very shortly after take-off in general terms the man started to become very threatening," he said. "(He) apparently headed for the cabin, and seemed to be intent upon trying to force a nasty outcome. "If you call an attempt to crash an aircraft, you might call that a hijacking." Melbourne man Joe De Costa, who was a passenger on the plane to Launceston, said that the male steward 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. The Qantas flight is scheduled to resume its journey to Launceston at 5.30pm AEST. But Mr Costa decided to go home rather than continue his trip to Tasmania. Mr Anderson said the man went through normal metal detectors at Melbourne airport which failed to pick up wooden sticks he was carrying. He said Australian airport security would have to be reviewed in light of the incident. "We are at world's best practice. It may well very be that there are lessons to learn out of this for Australian aviation and international aviation," he said. "If there's anything good to be drawn out of this very unfortunate episode it is that the safety of the aircraft and the people on it were secured. "Qantas and their crew deserve recognition for that, and I do particularly want to emphasise that we will of course garner all the information we can out of this." Mr Anderson said authorities would leave no stone unturned in finding out how the man was able to board the plane with weapons. There were no sky marshals on the plane. Mr Anderson said sky marshals were deployed on random flights. "We do them on a total random basis so that people have no chance of predicting whether or not there may be sky marshals on board," he said.</blockquote>

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