"We could see them practice taking over the plane".
The passengers are cheering for the guy who took over the plane".
"We may have to take over the plane and accelerate it.
On the flight over, the plane is packed with Asians who consider themselves unbelievably lucky.
"A month ago we handed over the plane and the crew to carry out some flights," Mr. Kakabadze said.
Two of the three hijackers are brothers who were 17 and 18 when they tried to take over the plane.
"You know, we'll get those guys," he said they agreed, in the event anyone tried to take over the plane.
As the hijackers were being led from the courthouse to their holding cells, they were asked by reporters why they took over the plane.
Four armed rebels, the government said, took over the plane in midflight and forced it to land on a remote road.
The guerrilla commandos who took over the plane are members of the Teofilo Forero front, which is led by Joaquín Gómez, a key rebel negotiator.
Although Mr. Soltren's lawyer emphasized how his client's love for family had motivated him to go to Cuba and also to return to the United States, the presiding judge, Alvin K. Hellerstein, pressed for details on how he and the other hijackers took over the plane.
