Aeromexico Flight 576 Hijacked

[PhilDernerJr]

Reports say that flight 576 (a 737) was hijacked and flown to Mexico City, its original destination, after deparitng CUN with 104 pax.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/AMX576

[Matt Molnar]

Armed men have hijacked AeroMexico Flight 576, a CUN-MEX 737 flight, which has now landed in Mexico City. Details to come.

[Matt Molnar]

Hijackers are Bolivian, demanding to speak with Mexican President Calderon.

[T-Bird76]

How an airliner gets hijacked today with all the layers of sercurity is beyond me...although this is Mexico we are talking about where half the Police and Army work for the drug cartels.

[Matt Molnar]

Security at CUN was just as tight as JFK when I was down there a couple years ago...drug dogs, random secondary searches at the gate. But yes, I'm sure if you knew the right people you could walk in with a nice arsenal.

[PhilDernerJr]

Moslty rumor right now, but apaprently some or all hostages are coming off of the aircraft. The Prez won't talk to the hijackers and won't negotiate with them.

[george]

Sounds like all the passengers are off but the crew is still on board

[PhilDernerJr]

Storming the plane now....

[george]

CNN showing passengers coming off the plane now...

[moose135]

CNN is reporting via Mexican authorities that the hijackers have been arrested, all passengers and crew off the aircraft safely.

[george]

MEXICO CITY (CNN) -- The hijacking of a commercial airliner carrying 104 passengers ended peacefully Wednesday when five to seven people were taken into custody at Mexico City's airport.

The hijackers -- possibly Bolivians or Colombians -- took control of the Boeing 737 Aeromexico jet as it flew from the resort town of Cancun. They said a cardboard box they were carrying contained a bomb, which they threatened to blow up if their demand to speak to President Felipe Calderon was not met, CNN affiliate TV Azteca said.

The jet was moved to a remote area of the airport, and passengers were allowed to deplane; clutching their hand luggage, they walked slowly down the stairway to the tarmac.

Moments later, the suspects were taken into custody.

"It was very difficult, but the pilot told us to remain calm," said one passenger, who added that many of the other passengers were families returning from vacation in Cancun.

The woman said the hijackers never spoke to them during the 45 minutes they were held.

"We were scared," said another woman. "But it seemed like things got under control when we came down. We were immediately surrounded when we landed by federal police."

The woman, who had been seated in the middle of the plane, said the hijackers were in the front of the plane.

The incident began at 1:40 p.m. as the plane -- Flight 576 -- arrived from Cancun, and ended more than an hour later, slightly before 3 p.m.

Calderon was in the presidential hangar in the airport preparing to depart when the incident began, leading him to cancel his planned flight, the station said.

[Matt Molnar]

This certainly won't help Mexico's already sputtering tourism business.

[george]

This certainly won't help Mexico's already sputtering tourism business.

I was thinking the same thing. In addition to my full time job I am a travel agent and I can't believe some of the deals to Mexico right now.

[emshighway]

No weapons, No IED. Flight Deck never breached.

Just six boys who will now be spending a lot of time as guests of the mexican correctional department.

[moose135]

From the AP

Mexican official: Religious fanatic hijacked plane
MEXICO CITY — Mexico's security secretary says a Bolivian religious fanatic told police he hijacked a Mexican flight from the resort city of Cancun after receiving a divine revelation. Public Safety Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna says Jose Mar Flores, 44, told police that Wednesday's date — 9-9-09 — is the satanic number 666 turned upside down. Garcia Luna says Flores used a fake bomb to hijack the plane, then ordered the pilot to circle over Mexico City seven times. He said he wanted to warn Mexican President Felipe Calderon of an impending earthquake.

From a post on JP.net, while it was a lone hijacker, police grabbed a number of men until they could be cleared.