Counselair
"He said member..."
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2001
- Posts
- 210
Updated 3:38 PM ET March 20, 2003
By Jim Loney
MIAMI (Reuters) - Six knife-wielding hijackers who commandeered an aging Cuban airliner and diverted it to Florida broke down the cockpit door and tied up the crew with tape and rope, U.S. authorities said on Thursday.
U.S. agents were piecing together events on the DC-3, flown by the Cuban state airline Aerotaxi, by questioning 25 passengers and six crew. The six hijacking suspects, held at a jail in Key West, Florida, could face air piracy charges.
Cubans trying to leave the communist-ruled Caribbean island have stolen or hijacked government planes in the past. Cubans are generally allowed to stay if they reach the United States.
U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Joseph Nimmich called the hijacking a likely defection attempt, but an FBI spokeswoman said the motive was not yet known.
In Havana, the Cuban government called it "an act of terrorism" and demanded the immediate return of the plane, its crew and all the passengers, including the hijackers.
A government statement said an Italian citizen and five children, five crew and a security guard were on the DC-3.
"This is a crime that is precisely typified as an act of terrorism in various international conventions ratified by Cuba and the United States," the statement said.
The U.S. government put the nation on a heightened state of alert this week in advance of an invasion of Iraq. Florida's coast has been a concern since four armed Cuban Coast Guards in military fatigues slipped a military vessel into Key West harbor without being detected last month.
U.S. Air Force fighter jets intercepted the DC-3 south of Florida on Wednesday and escorted it to Key West's airport, where the suspects surrendered without incident.
Cuba said the plane took off from Cuba's Isle of Youth at 6:51 p.m. EST (2351 GMT), for the short flight to Havana.
'POLITICAL PROBLEMS' ON BOARD
Half an hour later and 10 miles south of Havana airport, the pilot radioed to say he had "political problems" on board and was heading north to Miami.
Minutes later the pilot said the plane was being hijacked by "armed people" and requested the shortest flight plan possible for Key West, 90 miles north of Havana, because he was short on fuel, the Cuban statement said. The DC-3 landed in the Florida city 38 minutes later, it said.
U.S. air traffic controllers spotted it shortly before 8 p.m. EST (0100 GMT on Thursday).
Military jets were scrambled after controllers failed to make radio contact with the twin-engine prop plane.
The decades-old white and blue DC-3, with a Cuban flag painted on its cockpit, was spotted about 10 miles off Key West, U.S. Navy executive officer Peter Fyles said.
"The system worked last night," Fyles said. "The system responded the way it was supposed to."
FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela said five of the six suspects had knives when they stormed the cockpit.
"The six broke down the cockpit door. They removed four of the six crew, leaving the pilots to fly the plane," she said. "The other crew were bound with tape and rope. There were no injuries."
The FBI identified the six in custody as Alvenis Arias Isquierdo, 24, Alexis Normiella Morales, 31, Eduardo Javier Mejias Morales, 26, Neudis Infante Hernandez, 31, Yainer Olizares Samon, 21, and Maikel Guerra Morales, 31.
The passengers were being processed by the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, a new agency under the Department of Homeland Security. The Miami Herald, citing a Key West airport source, reported the pilot and most of the passengers said they wanted to return to Cuba. (Additional reporting by Anthony Boadle in Havana and Laura Myers in Key West)
By Jim Loney
MIAMI (Reuters) - Six knife-wielding hijackers who commandeered an aging Cuban airliner and diverted it to Florida broke down the cockpit door and tied up the crew with tape and rope, U.S. authorities said on Thursday.
U.S. agents were piecing together events on the DC-3, flown by the Cuban state airline Aerotaxi, by questioning 25 passengers and six crew. The six hijacking suspects, held at a jail in Key West, Florida, could face air piracy charges.
Cubans trying to leave the communist-ruled Caribbean island have stolen or hijacked government planes in the past. Cubans are generally allowed to stay if they reach the United States.
U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Joseph Nimmich called the hijacking a likely defection attempt, but an FBI spokeswoman said the motive was not yet known.
In Havana, the Cuban government called it "an act of terrorism" and demanded the immediate return of the plane, its crew and all the passengers, including the hijackers.
A government statement said an Italian citizen and five children, five crew and a security guard were on the DC-3.
"This is a crime that is precisely typified as an act of terrorism in various international conventions ratified by Cuba and the United States," the statement said.
The U.S. government put the nation on a heightened state of alert this week in advance of an invasion of Iraq. Florida's coast has been a concern since four armed Cuban Coast Guards in military fatigues slipped a military vessel into Key West harbor without being detected last month.
U.S. Air Force fighter jets intercepted the DC-3 south of Florida on Wednesday and escorted it to Key West's airport, where the suspects surrendered without incident.
Cuba said the plane took off from Cuba's Isle of Youth at 6:51 p.m. EST (2351 GMT), for the short flight to Havana.
'POLITICAL PROBLEMS' ON BOARD
Half an hour later and 10 miles south of Havana airport, the pilot radioed to say he had "political problems" on board and was heading north to Miami.
Minutes later the pilot said the plane was being hijacked by "armed people" and requested the shortest flight plan possible for Key West, 90 miles north of Havana, because he was short on fuel, the Cuban statement said. The DC-3 landed in the Florida city 38 minutes later, it said.
U.S. air traffic controllers spotted it shortly before 8 p.m. EST (0100 GMT on Thursday).
Military jets were scrambled after controllers failed to make radio contact with the twin-engine prop plane.
The decades-old white and blue DC-3, with a Cuban flag painted on its cockpit, was spotted about 10 miles off Key West, U.S. Navy executive officer Peter Fyles said.
"The system worked last night," Fyles said. "The system responded the way it was supposed to."
FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela said five of the six suspects had knives when they stormed the cockpit.
"The six broke down the cockpit door. They removed four of the six crew, leaving the pilots to fly the plane," she said. "The other crew were bound with tape and rope. There were no injuries."
The FBI identified the six in custody as Alvenis Arias Isquierdo, 24, Alexis Normiella Morales, 31, Eduardo Javier Mejias Morales, 26, Neudis Infante Hernandez, 31, Yainer Olizares Samon, 21, and Maikel Guerra Morales, 31.
The passengers were being processed by the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, a new agency under the Department of Homeland Security. The Miami Herald, citing a Key West airport source, reported the pilot and most of the passengers said they wanted to return to Cuba. (Additional reporting by Anthony Boadle in Havana and Laura Myers in Key West)
