Crew members of a Qantas redeye flight making its way from Melbourne to Hong Kong had to forcefully subdue a young Israeli man who suddenly yelled, "You will all die" and threatened passengers, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Thursday.
A spokeswoman for the airline said the passenger "became disruptive" and that stewards had to use force to restrain him. But she would not confirm reports that the man had been praying in Hebrew.
Helen, an Australian passenger, told the Herald the man had been praying in a language she believed was Hebrew before yelling, "I'm going to kill myself, you are all going to die, it will be God's will, what will be will be, I'm going to open the door."
"The crew were fantastic, the boys held him down and subdued him and one of the female crew cuffed him," she was quoted as saying in an email. Helen added that the female crew member who cuffed the man told her he was extremely aggressive and tried to bring the plane down.
There were 280 passengers and crew members on board the flight. No one was harmed. The man, whose identity has not been publicized, was placed in the hands of Hong Kong security after landing.