Shortly before the scheduled departure of Aeronica Flight 726 from Sandino Airport in Managua to San Salvador, El Salvador, and on to Mexico City, Mexico, a male youth with a pistol seized control of the aircraft. The youth who was described as a juvenile delinquent in the press, reportedly jumped from the airport terminal observation platform onto the air operations area and ran to the aircraft. The hijacker also claimed to have a hand grenade, which was never substantiated, and threatened to kill some of the passengers unless he was flown to El Salvador and then, allegedly, on to the United States. Approximately three hours after the seizure, the hijacker was overpowered by security officers who were aboard the aircraft. The hijacker was believed to have been arrested.