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When passengers and crew were briefly hijacked, it appeared to be a group of religious fanatics. Both crew and passengers were released.
After standing up to get luggage out of overhead bins, the hijacker took control of the aircraft. José Mar Flores Pereira, a 44 year-old Bolivian man threatened the pilot with a small box wrapped in tape.
The passengers were informed by the pilots that the plane had been hijacked and asked them to remain calm and in their seats. There was no yelling or sense of panic on the plane.
The hijacker had told the pilot to circle Mexico City seven times, which seemed to have some symbolic importance to him. The pilot landed the plane at 1:39 p.m. without complying, telling the hijacker the plane was low on fuel. The man never gained access to the cockpit.
Almost straight away the hijackers told the passengers they would be freed, commencing with women and children.
Pereira said he was on a mission from God and needed to warn the people of an impending earthquake, as the date was the upside down sign of the beast, 666, from the Biblical book of Revelation. He wanted to speak to Mexico’s president.
Pereira was a Christian pastor who had spoken to God. He was carrying a bible and said he was working with three others, who he revealed to be God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. He was however, a man with a criminal record in Bolivia for armed robbery, as well as a recovering alcoholic and drug addict.
The hijacker freed the plane's passengers after about 45 minutes on the ground, but continued to hold the pilots and crew. AM576 was carrying 112 passengers and crew.
The Mexican federal police led away around eight handcuffed men, after storming the plane shortly before 3 p.m. local time. The aircraft had been parked at an isolated end of a runway in an area designated for emergencies. The pilot and crew were freed. There were no explosions and no shots fired during the rescue.
Aeromexico said the crew had followed airline procedures. Genaro García Luna, the secretary of public security, defended the decision to handcuff several passengers and search several others, because initial reports said there were as many as four hijackers. “We had to be sure no one else was involved,” he said.
Freed passenger Adriana Romero said that the hijacker was well-dressed and appeared like any other passenger on board. There were U.S. French and Mexican citizens among the passengers.
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