1971 Qantas bomb hoax

The 1971 Qantas bomb hoax was an extortion and robbery committed by Peter Macari and Raymond Poynting on 26 May 1971, where Macari, under the alias of "Mr. Brown", extorted $500,000 from Qantas by informing officials that he had hidden a bomb on board Qantas Flight 755 from Sydney to Hong Kong, and that the device would explode if the plane were to descend below 20,000 feet. In exchange for the safety of the 128 passengers and crew on board Flight 755, Macari demanded a ransom of $500,000. While authorities negotiated with Macari, Flight 755 was forced to circle Sydney; however after over six hours in the air and with fuel supplies dwindling, Qantas was forced to concede. At around 5:45 p.m., in Chifley Square, just outside Qantas company headquarters, Captain R. J. Ritchie, a Qantas general manager, handed Macari the ransom money through the window of a Volkswagen Kombi. Sometime after 6:00 pm, Qantas received a final call from Macari stating that there was no bomb onboard Flight 755. The plane was able to land safely at Sydney Airport around 6:45 p.m.

An investigation was launched by police and Macari and his accomplice, Raymond Poynting, were arrested on 4 August 1971, after a service station attendant tipped off police about Poynting's new lavish lifestyle. Poynting was jailed for seven years and Macari for 15. However, Macari served only nine years before being paroled and deported to England in 1980.

The 1986 Australian television film Call Me Mr Brown is based on the events of the 1971 Qantas bomb hoax.

Background

Peter Macari was born in Devon, England. In July 1969, he was arrested on charges of indecent assault and was later released on bail. Macari then sold his elder brother Bernard a fish and chip shop he owned for roughly $6,500. In August 1969, using a false passport, Macari skipped bail and sailed to Sydney, Australia, on the MS Achille Lauro with 22-year-old Ivan Jay. Macari used a variety of aliases while living in Sydney including "Peter King", "Peter Young", "Brian Adams", and "William Day"; however, most people knew him as "Peter King", including his accomplice, Raymond Poynting. It is unclear exactly how Macari and Poynting met, but according to police they became friends while Macari was running a fibreglass furniture and boatbuilding business in Brookvale.