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

[clarification needed] 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.

[11] With the plan beginning to form, Macari travelled to Mount Isa in April where he befriended a miner called Francis Sorohan, who stole gelignite and a dozen detonators for him.

Poynting agreed and typed out three threatening letters that detailed the instructions for the ransom and warned that the bomb would explode if the plane descended below 20,000 feet;[11][4] the three letters were later discovered in a locker at Kingsford Smith International Airport, along with an explosive device consisting of unprimed gelignite that could be detonated at a set height using the altimeter.

The night before the hoax on 25 May, Poynting drove Macari to the Hertz depot in Alexandria, where they stole car keys belonging to a Volkswagen Kombi, later used as the getaway vehicle during the extortion.

[14] Around midday on 26 May 1971 Macari, under the alias of "Mr Brown", called the Australian Department of Civil Aviation where he told officials he had hidden a bomb on board a Boeing 707, on Qantas Flight 755;[13] to prove he was not lying, Macari told authorities there was an identical bomb located in locker 84 at Kingsford Smith International Airport.

[1] Police located the locker and upon opening it, found three letters and an explosive device constructed out of unprimed gelignite and an altimeter.

Qantas Flight 755 from Sydney to Hong Kong was a Boeing 707 and was carrying a total of 128 people; 116 passengers and 12 crew.

Around 1:30 p.m., while flying over Dalby, Queensland, Captain William Selwyn, pilot of Flight 755, was informed of the situation and was told to maintain an altitude of 35,000 feet.

[16] After reaching Brisbane air space at 2:22pm, the plane started to circle the city at an altitude of six miles (31,680 feet (9,660 m), escorted by an RAAF Phantom fighter-bomber jet.

This was the case even when the stewards and hostesses began ripping-up carpets and removing light-fittings.Selwyn arrived at Sydney and was forced to circle the plane for several hours at sea off Mascot while negotiations were held.

[2] At roughly 5:45 pm Macari arrived in a yellow Volkswagen Kombi which he had stolen the night before;[11] he was reported to have worn a disguise consisting of a wig, a fake moustache, and glasses.

[4] Two weeks after the hoax, police discovered that the gelignite and detonators used in the making of the bomb found in locker 84 at Sydney Airport were also being used in the Mount Isa Mines, in Queensland.

[20] A breakthrough came in August 1971 when police received a tip-off from a service station attendant about a young barman, Raymond Poynting; the attendant became suspicious of the man after he suddenly began making large and extravagant purchases, including buying himself an E-Type Jaguar and a Ford Falcon GT.

[23] After his arrest, Macari was asked by authorities where the remainder of the money was, he stated that there was another man involved in the extortion by the name of "Ken".

[1] Macari and Poynting both pleaded guilty to charges of demanding money with menaces and stealing a motor vehicle.

Later, in August of the same year, a similar incident was carried out in Denver, Colorado, on a British Overseas Airways Corporation flight with 380 passengers on board.

New South Wales Police were notified and upon further review of technical information given by the man, they deemed the threat a hoax.

Authorities reached this conclusion as not only was deactivating the bomb via remote control deemed impossible, but the hoaxer also relayed inconsistent instructions to Qantas and displayed technical ineptitude.

After the threat was deemed a hoax, Qantas was able to trace the origin of the call and delivered two bags full of phone books to the hoaxer to give the impression that there was money inside.

[27] In 1971, Australian singer Peter Hiscock released a single titled "A Certain Mr. Brown", detailing the events of the hoax.