1984 U.S. Hijacker Pleads Guilty to Kidnapping

A U.S. man who hijacked an airplane in 1984 and diverted it to Cuba pleaded guilty to kidnapping Thursday in a Florida court over the infamous incident, The Miami Herald said.

By declaring himself guilty of kidnapping, William Potts, 57, who returned to the United States last year after serving jail time in Cuba, will avoid being sentenced for air-piracy, which carries a 20-year minimum sentence.

Under a plea deal worked out between Potts' lawyer and prosecutors, Judge Robin Rosenbaum could -- under the new charge -- potentially take into account the 13 years Potts spent in a Cuban jail, the daily newspaper said.

On March 27, 1984, Potts forced the crew of a Piedmont Airlines New York to Miami flight to change course to Cuba, requesting $5 million and threatening to shoot passengers and blow up the plane with two explosives he claimed to have on board.

He spoke of fighting apartheid in South Africa and his opposition to U.S. intervention in Nicaragua.

Upon arriving on the communist island, where he hoped to be welcomed as a revolutionary, he was jailed. After prison, he began a new life in Havana where he married and converted to Islam.

Potts surrendered to U.S. authorities on his return to the country in November, saying that he wanted to reconnect with his two daughters living in the United States. 

He told CNN at the time that he regretted the hijacking, saying it had haunted him every day.