A PASSENGER told tonight how a Qantas flight attendant ignored serious stab wounds to his head to repeatedly tackle a 'would-be hijacker' until he could be subdued.

Derek Findlay described today's dramatic hijack bid by a man in a suit and armed with wooden stakes, who attacked two flight attendants and tried to crash a Melbourne to Launceston domestic flight.

Mr Findlay, 30, was among passengers who wrestled the attacker to the cabin floor after he ran towards the cockpit, lunging at the male purser and female flight attendant.

As well as sticks, the man was also brandishing an aerosol can.

Mr Findlay also gave first aid to the wounded male flight attendant, named Greg, and to his female colleague, who suffered lacerations to her right cheek.

Speaking at Launceston Airport after arriving on another flight, he shrugged off suggestions he was a hero, saying others would have done the same.

"It's the purser who was heroic - he was stabbed in the head but still managed to push the attacker back into the plane and then was helped by male passengers.

"The purser kept tackling, football tackles, before we managed to get the man to the floor and tie him down with zap belts," said Mr Findlay, a commercial diver.

He described the would-be hijacker as "determined", and his actions as clearly premeditated.

Mr Findlay, who was seated two rows from the front of the plane, described the attacker as slightly built, Caucasian with a dark tan, about 170cm tall and "pretty fit".

"He was professional looking, wearing a suit and white shirt, and he looked determined," Mr Findlay said.

"A premeditated attack? Yes, definitely."

What was most peculiar, said Mr Findlay, was that the attacker's fingertips on his right hand were bandaged. Mr Findlay would not be drawn as to why he thought that would be.

"It seemed odd," he said.

"But I would describe him as an idiot for trying to do what he was trying to do.

"What political statement could he want to make on a domestic flight to Tasmania."

He said the attacker made no demands audible to passengers, but it was evident he planned to take control of the aircraft.

Once subdued, the man did not utter a sound, except to answer `yes' when police who boarded the plane in Melbourne asked if he understood why he was being handcuffed, Mr Findlay said.

Passengers appeared relieved as they arrived in Launceston after their ordeal.

They said the plane's captain and co-pilot did not leave the cockpit during the incident.

"It remained locked throughout the attack," said a man from Rosebud in Victoria.

"The captain stayed in the cockpit, where he was supposed to be."