A mentally unstable man who briefly hijacked an Aeromexico flight on Wednesday said he commandeered the plane after a divine revelation prompted him to warn Mexican President Felipe Calderon of an impending earthquake.

Authorities are currently questioning Bolivian-born Jose Mar Flores about yesterday’s incident, in which 111 people were detained but eventually released unharmed.

Flight 576 was headed from Cancun to Mexico City when Flores hijacked it in mid-air. He claimed to have a bomb and demanded to speak to Calderon.

After the jet landed it taxied to a remote part of the airport. A senior flight attendant reportedly managed to reason with Flores and convince him to let the passengers go,  and they were allowed to slowly disembark after about 45 minutes.

Shortly thereafter Mexican federal agents stormed the plane, freed the crew, and led out several suspected culprits in handcuffs. Authorities later determined that Flores was the only perpetrator and freed the other men, who turned out to be passengers that had gotten caught up in the drama.

Agents initially though there was more than one hijacker because Flores initially said that he was accompanied by three others. However he eventually revealed that he was referring to the Holy Trinity.

Agents also determined that there had not been a bomb on board, and that Flores had never penetrated the cockpit. The device he carried was comprised of three juice cans filled with sand, a digital clock and some wires, but contained no explosives.

Apparently the whole incident unfolded very calmly, to the point that some of the  passengers on board did not even know they were being hijacked until emergency vehicles began surrounding the plane while it sat on the tarmac.

Read more about Travel Safety & Security as well as Terrorism & Security.

Flores, 44, hails from the southern city of Oaxaca, where he works as a pastor at an evangelical church. Before he immigrated to Mexico he had a history of drug abuse and petty thievery, but he claims to have been saved by religion 17 years ago.

After the incident he told authorities that he chose 9-9-09 because that day is the inverse of 6-6-6, which is associated with the devil.
Flores is currently undergoing a psychiatric evaluation, which could determine whether he will be prosecuted on terrorism charges or sent to a mental hospital.

The incident has proved embarrassing to Cancun airport security, because the fake bomb should have been easily detected before Flores boarded the plane. Mexico’s secretary for public safety said that an investigation will be launched to determine how the breach occurred.

By Karen Elowitt for PeterGreenberg.com.

Related links: Associated Press, Christian Science Monitor, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Bloomberg

Read more about Travel Safety & Security as well as Terrorism & Security.