It almost manifested itself hijacking on his company’s aircraft Mexicowhen a passenger attempted to hijack the plane and direct it to the US.
The man attempted yesterday Sunday (08.12.2024) to divert a domestic flight of the Mexican company Volaris to the US, but was neutralized by the crew before he stormed the cockpit and carried out the hijacking.
The aircraft, type Airbus A320, had taken off at 07:17 (local time; 15:17 Greek time) from the airport of Leon, in central Mexico, bound for Tijuana.
Shortly after departure, passenger “assaulted a flight attendant and attempted to break into the cockpit to divert the aircraft to the US,” the Ministry of Security explained in a press release according to the New York Post.
Thowever, the crew was able to bring the situation under control and the aircraft made an emergency landing in Guadalajara.
According to authorities, the hijacker, a 31-year-old Mexican from the state of Guanajuato, the lived with his wife and their two minor children. He was arrested by the National Guard in Guadalajara and the plane departed again for Tijuana.
According to Reforma newspaper, the man then lunged at the driver of the National Guard vehicle that was taking him to the prosecutor’s office, causing a collision with a metal structure at the airport. The suspect and the law enforcement officers accompanying him suffered minor injuries.
According to Volaris, “the perpetrator of the attack explained that a member of his family had been kidnapped and that as he was taking off from Leon, he received a message threatening to kill him if he went to Tijuana.”
The state of Guanajuato, where the hijacker hails from, is among those most affected by the violence of organized crime. Gangs engage in kidnapping and extortion.