"There is a bomb on the plane."

No pilot wants to hear those terrifying words but 49 years ago over the skies of Australia, the captain of a Qantas passenger jet received the alarming message.

It kicked off a frantic search aboard the Boeing 707 aircraft, the payment of a ransom equivalent to $15 million today and a nationwide manhunt in what became known as the "Qantas Bomb Hoax".

The incident started on May 26, 1971 when a "Mr Brown" phoned the Federal Government's Aviation Department and told officials there was a bomb in a locker at Sydney's International Airport.

After the police bomb squad rushed to the locker and opened it, they discovered a deactivated explosive device composed of gelignite that could be detonated at a set height.

Officers also found accompanying written notes explaining a similar device had been placed on Qantas Flight 755, which had left Sydney bound for Hong Kong.

The messages went on to explain the bomb on the plane had been set to explode if the pilot flew below 6000 metres.


Another note from Mr Brow demanded a payment of $500,000 (equivalent to $15 million today) from Qantas in exchange for instructions how to dismantle the bomb.


"Frantic search on plane"

After the discovery in the airport locker and police experts carried out tests confirming it would explode at a set altitude, concern turned to the safety of the 116 passengers and 12 crew on-board Flight 755.

The plane's pilot, Captain William Selwyn, was told the grim news by radio as it flew over Queensland and his aircraft was diverted back to Sydney.

Passengers were told a "technical issue" was behind the return to NSW.

Capt. Selwyn - a World War II air force veteran - kept the jet above 6000 metres while other crew members desperately searched for the bomb.

During the ensuring six hours, the aircraft circled Sydney while police and Qantas executives attempted to negotiate with the bomber by phone.

With the jet's fuel running low, by the late afternoon the airline agreed to hand over the $500,000 cash to Mr Brown in central Sydney.

The Kombi van and ransom bungle

Mr Brown told Qantas bosses a yellow van would pull up outside Qantas House in Chifley Square in the CBD on the evening of May 26, 1971.

The driver would identify himself by dangling his keys out the window.



Although the bomber warned against police tailing the vehicle, detectives planned to intercept the van.

The operation centred on four unmarked cars containing officers who - on the signal given by other police inside Qantas House - would pounce on the vehicle.

It remains unclear what happened but probably due to a mix-up they never received the signal.



After the airline's general manager stuffed suitcases of cash inside the Kombi van waiting at the kerb, its driver - a man in wig, fake moustache and glasses - drove away unhindered.

"Unfortunately, the plan didn't go the way in which it was designed," then-police commissioner Norman Allen told The Sydney Morning Herald in June, 1971.

Nationwide manhunt for Mr Brown

A few minutes after the ransom payment authorities received a phone call telling them there was, in fact, no bomb on the Qantas plane.

The Boeing 707 landed safely in Sydney.



Police now turned to catching the hoaxers behind the outrageous extortion.

A reward of $50,000 was offered for information leading to their arrest and Scotland Yard and the FBI helped Australian police narrow down the list of suspects.

Then in August 1971 a breakthrough came when police arrested English migrant Peter Macari when an acquaintance became suspicious of his newfound riches and tipped off police.

After listening to the tape of Mr Brown he identified the extortionist as Macari.

In 1972, Macari was sentenced to 15 years prison after pleading guilty to demanding money with menaces and other charges.

Eight years later he was deported to Britain - on a Qantas plane.

Brilliantly executed. Scam has been a white man thing from inception.