A Mexican airline has confirmed an attempted hijacking in which a man tried to divert the plane to the United States. No injuries were reported during the incident.
Update: 4:15pm: Mexican authorities told Breitbart Texas that they arrested 31-year-old “Mario” on suspicion of attempting to hijack Volaris Flight 3041 on Sunday. Officials said the man reported receiving death threats during the flight and tried to change his flight to the United States. His family had reportedly been victims of previous kidnappings.
Airline company Volaris said the incident occurred Sunday morning on flight 3041 from Leon, Guanajuato, to Tijuana, Baja California.
Video posted on social media shows passengers subduing the alleged hijacker.
Details of the incident remain unclear. However, the airline said in a brief prepared statement that a male passenger “used force” in an attempt to divert the plane toward the United States. Passengers and crew members stopped the man, and the pilot diverted the plane to Guadalajara, Jalisco, where federal authorities took him into custody. The airline insisted it would provide the necessary documents to prosecute the suspects.
The statement did not mention the use of weapons, but said the crew and passengers were unharmed.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist at Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Breitbart, Texas Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and Breitbart's senior management team. you can follow him Twitter And even more facebook. He can be contacted at: iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Breitbart, Texas Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and Breitbart's senior management team. please follow him Twitter and facebook. He can be contacted at: bdarby@breitbart.com.
Editor's note: This is a developing story. Additional information will be added as it becomes available.
