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By Jennifer Babson. jbabson@herald.com. Posted on Mon, Nov.
11, 2002 in The Miami Herald.
KEY WEST - A group of 10 Cubans landed at Key West International Airport
this morning on what authorities said was a small Russian-made cargo plane.
The single engine Antonov, which was escorted to the Key West airport by two
U.S. fighters, landed at 10:41 a.m. Key West Airport manager Peter Horton said
the airport had advanced knowledge the planc was coming, "but not much,
just a few minutes.''
Horton said the 10 Cubans -- the pilot, eight adults and a small child --
left the ramp accompanied by officers from the U.S. Immigration and
Naturalization Service. The Cubans' identities were not inmediately available.
Horton said the yellow and white Antonov appeared to be a cargo plane, or
possibly a cropduster.
''When we got the call that they were on the say they were already in our
[landing] pattern,'' said Horton, who added officials didn't know yet where the
plane originated.
''It's our understanding that this is a defection, not a hijacking,'' Horton
said. "The aircraft is not configured for passengers, it's configured for
cargo.''
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