The Qantas Bomb Hoax

The Qantas bomb hoax of 1971 was elaborate robbery carried out by Peter Macari, under the alias Mr Brown, and his accomplice Raymond Poynting. 

Macari called Qantas officials on 26 May 1971 demanding $500,000 or he would explode a bomb that he had hidden on a Qantas flight from Sydney that was bound for Hong Kong. To prove to them he was serious, Macari gave them instructions on where to find an identical bomb that he had hidden in a locker at the airport.

The pilot of Qantas flight 755 was forced to circle Sydney for more than five hours while police negotiated with Macari. However, Qantas were forced to pay the ransom as the aircraft was running out of fuel, putting the 128 passengers and crew at risk. 

Instructions were given to Qantas officials about where and how to hand over the cash and after the handover took place, Qantas received a call from Macari saying there was no bomb on the flight after all. 

Macari and Poynting were eventually caught after a tip off from the public. Macari was sentenced to 15 years in prison and Poynting to 7 years. 

This clip is from Seven News reporting on the day, including an interview with the pilot and a close up look at the bomb found in the airport locker.