Australian surfers receive awards for their heroic act after knocking down a hijacker who attempted to terrorise the plane they were on
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Picture this: You’re having a relaxing time watching movies while sitting on your flight when all of a sudden a passenger exclaims that he has a bomb. What would you do?
Well, for surfing buddies Troy Joyner, 38, and Fabio Contu, 40, the appropriate response was knocking out the hijacker and saving the other passengers on the plane!
The duo has made the headlines after they took down a passenger who threatened to bomb the plane they were on their way to Indonesia on 21st May 2017.
The Aussie surfers were on board the Malaysian Airlines Flight MH128 on 21st May, 2017 when Sri Lankan Manodh Marks exclaimed that he had a bomb and attempted to hijack the plane.
Troy Joyner and Fabio Contu were recognised for their heroic act after they knocked down Sri Lankan Manodh Marks who attempted to hijack the plane they were on. Credit: news.com.au.
The duo sat down with news.com.au to recall the experience on Tuesday after they were recognised with bravery awards for their heroic act.
Contu recalled: “We sat down, I put a movie on.”
“Troy did the same thing. We’d just taken off.”
Joyner, who was seated in the last third of the plane along with his pal, said that the right earpiece of his headphones was not working at the time, allowing him to hear noises inside the cabin, including Marks' threats.
“Everyone was sort of sitting there relaxing, watching movies,” he said.
“As I turned around, (Marks) ran past me and said, ‘I’ve got a bomb’.”
The Malaysian Airlines Flight MH128 was forced to Melbourne airport after the incident. Credit: Andrew Leoncelli/AFP.
It was said that the 26-year-old hijacker was holding two black packages with blue flashing lights on them.
At the time, the passengers and crew were in a panic and were not able to recognise that the said packages were actually Bluetooth speakers.
It was at this moment that Joyner informed Contu — a former military veteran with experience disarming explosives — that the situation that was unfolding right in front of them may be an act of terrorism.
Joyner recalled: “I said, ‘Mate, that guy’s got a bomb’.”
“It was dark. The cabin crew in front of us started to talk in Malaysian. More people were starting to move around. I could hear a heap of yelling. They flicked the lights on and I could see he had a singlet on with a device under his singlet that stood out, sort of two inches from his stomach."
“He had a remote in his left hand that looked pretty legit. I thought, ‘This guy is pretty serious’.”
Contu admitted that he did not believe his friend at first, saying: "Troy tapped me and said, ‘He’s got a bomb’. I was like, ‘You’ve heard him wrong. He’s probably going to the toilet’. He’s like, ‘I know what I heard’.”
It was reported that Marks was demanding access into the cockpit but the crew managed to push him back.
In a surprising turn of events, the hijacker stopped right next to Joyner's seat, allowing the Aussie surfer to jump right up to him and put him in a headlock.
Contu then tackled Marks around the waist, pushing him down to the ground.
The 40-year-old said that once they had him pressed down on the floor, he managed to lift Marks' singlet.
“Under the shirt I could feel something,” he said.
“I pulled his shirt up and there’s this big round plastic thing staring at me with wires coming out of it. I put my hand on it and went ‘stuff it’. I ripped it off him and it didn’t go off. I gave it to a passenger and said to put it at the back of the plane."
“Troy had him choked out. He was out cold so I searched him for a trigger. There was a phone so I took that off him, too. We handcuffed his hands and his feet with cable ties and secured him to the frame of a seat so he couldn’t move.”
The surfer buddies admitted that at the time, they thought they were about to die.
Contu said: “I reckon there was a lot of people that didn’t really know what was going on. A lot of people did nothing.”
“I suppose it comes down to (the questions): Why should they be able to do that? And what are you going to do about it?”
“You have to have a crack. Don’t let them win.”
Joyner said: “The only thing that made me do it was the fear of dying."
“There’s no one up there to help you. You either help yourself or let it take its course.”
The duo managed to tackle down Marks before he could do further damage. Credit: news.com.au.
On Tuesday, Governor-General David Hurley handed out Australian Bravery Decorations to recognise the courageous acts of 49 Aussies.
The recipients included the two Australian surfers Troy Joyner and Fabio Contu.
Meanwhile, Masodh Marks was initially sentenced to 12 years imprisonment with a non-parole period of nine years.
However, the Victorian Court of Appeal reduced his sentence to eight years with a non-parole period of five years.
Additionally, Marks will be deported as soon as he ends his sentence.
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