Surfers’ flight heroics

Bass Coast locals Fabio Contu and Troy Joyner have been honoured in this year's Australian Bravery Decorations. Picture: Eleanor Wilson

By Eleanor Wilson

At face value, childhood friends Fabio Contu and Troy Joyner look like regular, laid back Aussie blokes.

As young fathers and avid surfers hailing from the Bass Coast region of Victoria, in many ways they are.

But a near death experience in 2017 changed that, and led to the pair being honoured in the 2022 Australian Bravery Decorations.

It was late on 31 May in 2017 that Mr Contu and Mr Joyner, surfboards in tow, boarded Malaysia Airlines flight MH128 bound for Kuala Lumpur from Melbourne.

It was supposed to be a relaxing surfing trip to Nias, Indonesia, to chase what they described as “the swell of the decade”.

But, shortly into the flight’s ascent from Melbourne airport, the 225 passengers on board became involved in a terrifying hijacking attempt.

“We were about 15 minutes into the air and there was a guy a few seats back stuffing around with his overheard locker,” Mr Joyner said.

“So the crew told him to sit down. Then a few minutes later they yelled at him and really told him to sit down.”

Mr Joyner said it was after this exchange that the man ran past him, claiming he was wearing a bomb and was taking it to the pilot in the cockpit.

“I wasn’t sure I heard him right, so I took my headset off and told Fab what I heard,” he said.

“Then they flicked the lights on and the guy ran to the back of a plane. He had a singlet on and something pushed out of his chest.“

Spotting an instrument that resembled a remote in the man’s left hand, Mr Joyner said the pair did not hesitate to leave their seats and take action.

“We didn’t even really talk about it. Fab just said ‘we’ve gotta get him’, and then I went to the back and he went to the front and we had him sorted out pretty quick,” he said.

Tackling the offender into a nearby seat, Mr Joyner grabbed him by his neck, while Mr Contu, who had previously served in the Australian Army, grabbed the man’s torso and began to inspect the suspected bomb.

“I was over the top of this bomb and I was just having flashbacks from the army,” said Mr Contu, who often trained with explosive devices during his five years of army service.

“So I’ve ripped his shirt up, and I’ve put my hand on it and just thought ‘I’m damned if we do and I’m damned if we don’t’, because there were all these wires and duct tape on it.”

Mr Contu then ripped the apparatus off the man’s chest, which thankfully did not detonate, and the pair was able to restrain the offender with the help of fellow passengers and crew members.

“We put him on the ground and cable tied him, moved him to some seats in the front and that’s where he stayed,” Mr Contu said.

The aircraft pilot then made an emergency landing back at Melbourne Airport.

After an investigation, the ‘bomb’ was found to be a Bluetooth speaker, but Mr Joyner said at the time it felt “very real”.

“I thought I was never going to see my kids again. I thought we were dead for sure,” the father-of-three said.

The offender, then 25-year-old Manodh Marks, was the first person in Australia to be sentenced for the offence of attempting to take control of an aircraft.

He was sentenced to 12 years jail in 2018, which was later reduced to nine years after a judge found Mr Marks was “psychiatrically very unwell.”

Reports claim he has used the drug ice on the way to the airport, causing drug-induced psychosis.

For their brave efforts, Mr Joyner and Mr Contu have been recognised with a Commendation for Brave Conduct, as well as a Group Bravery Citation, awarded to participants of a collective act of bravery.

“It’s an honour to receive this award,” said Mr Joyner.

“We’re very grateful,” Mr Contu added.

The 2022 Australian Bravery Decorations recognise acts of bravery where people selflessly put themselves in jeopardy to protect the lives or property of others. The 38 bravery decorations were announced by the Governor General today.

Despite enduring such a terrifying experience, the wave chasers made it to Indonesia, coincidentally taking the exact same flight the next night.

“We ended up getting the waves of our lives,” Mr Joyner said.

The pair say the incident hasn’t discouraged them from travelling, but admit they are often “on high alert” when they find themselves on a commercial flight.

“I don’t sleep on planes anymore … I tend to scan the plane and just check out what’s going on,” Mr Joyner said.