MIAMI (Reuters) - An elderly couple who chartered a small plane on the pretext of having sex in the sky died when the plane plunged into the sea off the Florida Keys after they tried to hijack it to Cuba, U.S. authorities said on Friday.
The unidentified couple scuffled with the pilot when the Piper Cherokee was about 40 miles south of Key West, sending the small plane plunging into deep water in the Florida Straits between Key West and Cuba, the pilot told agents investigating the alleged hijacking attempt.
The pilot, Thomas Hayashi, 36, managed to scramble out of the sinking plane and suffered only cuts and bruises. But the man and woman apparently were trapped.
"This is what the pilot is telling us," FBI agent Judy Orihuela said. "An elderly Cuban couple in their sixties asked to be taken on a 'Mile High' tour. Once they were up in the air...they demanded to be taken to Cuba."
"There was a scuffle and the pilot tried to maneuver the plane. The man fell on the throttle and made it so that he (the pilot) couldn't fly the plane. He had to ditch the plane."
It was the second bizarre incident involving a small plane in the Florida Keys recently. On July 31, American pizza delivery man Milo John Reese took off on a flying lesson in a Cessna and ended up crashing the plane on a beach in Cuba. He was charged with transporting a stolen plane.
Local media said Hayashi was the co-owner of a tour company called Fly Key West, which on its web site advertises "Mile High Club" tours for people who want to have sex in a plane.
"Come fly the very friendly skies," the web site beckons. "Cleaner than a hotel room. Brand new Key West Mile High Club souvenir sheets on every flight."
The company offers a "Quickie" flight of 35 minutes for $199, up to $349 for a 55-minute sunset tour. It notes that flights will not be videotaped unless passengers ask for it. "Our voyeur cam is only in the plane by request."
The Miami Herald reported that the six-seat plane had been converted to a two-seater with a "lounge" area in the back with a privacy partition behind the cockpit.
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