The Great Plane Robbery of 1971 was the real-life Doomsday Flight‏

Alysha Aitken

THE Great Plane Robbery of 1971 started with watching a rerun of Doomsday Flight in an old motel room and ended with the extortion of half a million dollars.

On May 26, around midday, a man phoned Sydney police claiming Qantas flight 755 to Hong Kong was carrying a bomb.

The man, calling himself Mr Brown, said the bomb would explode once the jet had descended below 6500 metres.

A wax model Sydney police made from descriptions of the man behind the Qantas hoax. Source: HWT Image Library

But for $500,000, he would reveal where the bomb was hidden.

To prove he was not bluffing, Brown directed police and Qantas officials to an identical bomb hidden in a locker at the airport’s international terminal.

Bomb experts said it was an altitude bomb capable of exploding at a certain height.

The bomb Mr Brown placed in a locker at Sydney airport during the $500,000 bomb hoax. Picture: The Herald Source: HWT Image Library

They defused the bomb and replaced the explosives with a testing light bulb.

A Boeing 707 was then sent up with a Qantas official, climbing to 2600 metres.

As the aircraft dropped to 1500 metres, the light bulb on the altitude activator came on.

Brown was not bluffing.

Qantas ordered flight 755 back to Sydney and passengers were told there was a technical fault.

The plane circled Sydney for several hours before the fuel tank became dangerously low.

Brown called Sydney airport again with his instructions for the delivery of the $500,000, which Qantas agreed to.

Soon afterwards a Kombi van stopped in front of Qantas House, where general manager Captain Ritchie pushed suitcases of cash through a window.

Brown then disappeared in the Kombi.

He called Sydney Airport a final time at 6.20pm.

“You can relax. There is no bomb aboard the plane. You can land her safely,” Brown said.

Flight 755 landed safely.

The manhunt then began.

Police were able to draw up an Indentikit picture of Brown, who was believed to be an English migrant with a criminal record in Britain.

An identikit photo of the man who drove the Kombi van to pick up the $500,000 ransom cash. Picture: The Herald Source: HWT Image Library

After Brown’s last coup, it was reported he told associates he might go to Australia for “a really big job”.

Peter Macari was sentenced to 15 years jail for posing as Mr Brown and masterminding the Qantas hoax.

Peter Macari or Mr Brown was the mastermind behind the Qantas bomb hoax. Picture: HWT Library Source: HWT Image Library

His accomplice, Raymond Poynting, received seven years for his involvement.

The accomplice, Raymond Poynting, was sentenced to seven years hard labour for his part in the $500,000 Qantas hoax. Picture: The Herald Source: HWT Image Library

In 1973, a couple of tenants and their landlord at Balmain found what remained of the $500,000.
Brown had used this room for about four years after the Qantas extortion.

More than $130,000 worth of money, travellers’ cheques and a passport was uncovered in two locked wall safes.

Smiling squad chief Det-Sgt Jack McNeill (right) and Det Ross Bradley proudly display $132,480 in $20 notes recovered from the Qantas haul. Picture: The Herald Source: HWT Image Library

But almost $250,000 was unaccounted for.

In 1980, Macari was suddenly paroled and extradited from Australia, traveling back to London with Qantas.

For the Herald Sun’s True Crime Scene