Preacher says God wanted him to hijack Mexican jet
source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hurKrE3xb7Gfc6iwUeTYJy5slHOgD9AK9S3G0
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It was 1 p.m. when the control tower at the Mexico City airport got the first word of a bizarre drama that would play out over the next two hours: The pilot of Aeromexico Flight 576 radioed that a man aboard claimed to have a bomb and wanted to talk with President Felipe Calderon.
Jose Flores, a 44-year-old Bolivian preacher who lives in Mexico, says he had gotten the word from God that he had to warn Mexicans of an impending disaster — an earthquake "like none there has ever been," he told reporters after being hustled off the plane by police without anyone being injured.
Unsuspecting passengers, including Americans and French tourists traveling from the beach resort of Cancun to Mexico City, sat not fully aware of what was happening as the pilot negotiated with Flores, bringing the plane to a smooth landing and after an hour or so of talking winning an agreement to end the standoff.
The crisis began when Flores told a flight attendant that a juice can he had was a bomb. The flight attendant notified the plane's captain over the intercom, Public Safety Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna told reporters.
Flores kept the 103 passengers and crew on the tarmac for more than an hour, the plane sitting surrounded by heavily armed police at the end of a runway in an area designed for emergencies. The airport remained open.
Pilot Ricardo Rios told the Televisa television network that Flores requested that the Boeing 737 be flown around Mexico City seven times, but there wasn't enough fuel to do that. The hijacker also asked that women reporters and Calderon be at the airport to talk to him, Rios said.
"He said he had tried to speak to the president for three months and since there hadn't been an answer he decided to use these type of threats with an airline," the pilot said.
Eventually, Flores agreed to release women and children. Minutes later, masked police stormed onto the aircraft with guns drawn and soon escorted several handcuffed men away without firing a shot.
Police later said there was only one hijacker, and the other men were briefly detained because the suspect had told a flight attendant he had three accomplices.
Flores told police his three companions were "the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost."
He said he hijacked the plane after a divine revelation. Flores told authorities Wednesday's date — 9-9-09 — is the satanic number 666 turned upside down.
Jose Flores, a 44-year-old Bolivian preacher who lives in Mexico, says he had gotten the word from God that he had to warn Mexicans of an impending disaster — an earthquake "like none there has ever been," he told reporters after being hustled off the plane by police without anyone being injured.
Unsuspecting passengers, including Americans and French tourists traveling from the beach resort of Cancun to Mexico City, sat not fully aware of what was happening as the pilot negotiated with Flores, bringing the plane to a smooth landing and after an hour or so of talking winning an agreement to end the standoff.
The crisis began when Flores told a flight attendant that a juice can he had was a bomb. The flight attendant notified the plane's captain over the intercom, Public Safety Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna told reporters.
Flores kept the 103 passengers and crew on the tarmac for more than an hour, the plane sitting surrounded by heavily armed police at the end of a runway in an area designed for emergencies. The airport remained open.
Pilot Ricardo Rios told the Televisa television network that Flores requested that the Boeing 737 be flown around Mexico City seven times, but there wasn't enough fuel to do that. The hijacker also asked that women reporters and Calderon be at the airport to talk to him, Rios said.
"He said he had tried to speak to the president for three months and since there hadn't been an answer he decided to use these type of threats with an airline," the pilot said.
Eventually, Flores agreed to release women and children. Minutes later, masked police stormed onto the aircraft with guns drawn and soon escorted several handcuffed men away without firing a shot.
Police later said there was only one hijacker, and the other men were briefly detained because the suspect had told a flight attendant he had three accomplices.
Flores told police his three companions were "the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost."
He said he hijacked the plane after a divine revelation. Flores told authorities Wednesday's date — 9-9-09 — is the satanic number 666 turned upside down.
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