Who knew you could be charged with hijacking a Boeing 757, and then run for NYC mayor several years later!?! That’s exactly what NYC mayoral candidate, Aaron Commey, did, as he stormed the cockpit of a National Airlines jet back in 2000 with handgun, demanding they fly the plane to Antarctica or Argentina.

Now, Commey will appear on the November 7 ballot running for mayor of New York City.

Per City & State New York,

A Bronx man is running for mayor of New York City 17 years after he hijacked a plane at JFK Airport with a handgun and a knife and ordered the pilots to fly to Antarctica. 

Commey is an extreme long shot in the mayor’s race. He has not been active on the campaign trail, and has raised almost no money, putting up about $2,300 of his own funds while getting just $495 from donors. He has not been included in any major polls.

It doesn’t sound based on the primaries that Commey stands a chance, but nonetheless his name will be on the ballot.

Here’s the New York Times article from 2000, when the hijacking occurred:

The residents of a red-brick apartment building here say they have been in disbelief since a neighbor, Aaron Amartei Commey, was accused of boarding a National Airlines flight at Kennedy International Airport with a 10-millimeter handgun and a knife and ordering the pilots to fly to Miami, Argentina and then Antarctica.

Mr. Commey, 22, a native of the Bronx who moved to Milwaukee several years ago with his mother, was arrested early Friday morning after a five-hour standoff in which the plane’s passengers escaped and the pilot and co-pilot were freed.

In New York, Mr. Commey has been described as a violent, calculating and brazen man who spent weeks planning the attempted hijacking.