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Hijacked Cuban plane lands in Florida

KEY WEST, Fla., April 1. A Cuban passenger plane hijacked by a man who threatened to explode a hand grenade landed safely in Florida today and the suspected hijacker was taken into police custody, U.S. authorities said.

The twin-propellor aircraft, with 31 people aboard, landed shortly after 2204 hrs IST at Key West International Airport, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Christopher White said.

It was the second hijacking in two weeks of a Cuban airliner by Cubans seeking to leave their communist-run island for the United States.

The suspected hijacker carried a small boy, who appeared to be a relative, off the plane, put him down and was taken into custody, Key West Police spokesman Steve Torrence said.

The Cuban Government said the plane originally had 46 passengers and crew when it was hijacked on a domestic flight from the Isle of Youth to Havana yesterday night by a man apparently armed with two grenades.

The hijacker threatened to explode a grenade unless he was flown across the Florida Straits, but the plane did not have enough fuel for the trip and landed at Havana's international airport, a Cuban Government statement said.

After a 12-hour stand-off that closed the Havana airport to all flights, the hijacker allowed some passengers, including children, to get off the aircraft. The plane was refuelled and left Havana just before 2130 hrs IST for Key West. -- Reuters

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