General

“I thought he wanted to crash the plane, like in New York.”

Captives on what it was like inside CanJet Flight 918

About 10 p.m. Sunday, an armed Jamaican “of unsound mind” forced his way aboard a CanJet charter at Sangster International Airport, in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Thanks to the actions of a quick-thinking flight attendant, who convinced the gunman, in his early twenties, to accept cash and belongings in exchange for their freedom, 159 passengers and two crew were allowed to exit CanJet Flight 918 after 45 minutes. The remaining six crew members spent seven more hours with the gunman, before being freed by a counter-terrorism squad who stormed the Boeing 737 and disarmed the gunman, who apparently wanted to leave Jamaica. For many passengers, the thought to of Sept. 11 flashed in the minds. “I thought he wanted to crash the plane, like in New York,” said one. “That’s what we were all thinking.”

The Canadian Press

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