The young hijacker, who fancied the name "Genius," was becoming increasingly agitated. Periodically, he would march up to the cockpit and pound on the door, demanding the plane take off. It seemed as though he was already flying, out of this world.

"I said, 'Genius, what is it you really want?' " recounted Rev. Courtney Walters, a chaplain to the Jamaica Constabulary Force, the country's national police, and lead negotiator with the hijacker.