Key West, Fla. ? Six men were charged Thursday with hijacking a Cuban airliner at knifepoint and diverting it to the Florida Keys to seek asylum in the United States.

Investigators believe the hijackers took control of the plane without telling the 25 passengers and six crew members about their asylum plans, said Jacqueline Becerra, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami.

The plane landed safely Wednesday night under an escort of fighter jets and a U.S. Customs helicopter.

Officials said the six, all Cubans, took control of the airliner as it headed from Cuba’s Isle of Youth to Havana late Wednesday.

The crew and passengers, including five children, were taken about 160 miles in the early morning to a federal detention center near Miami after being held at Key West International Airport, the FBI said.

Some passengers or crew members may request asylum, U.S. Atty. Marcos Jimenez said. Under federal law, Cubans who arrive on U.S. soil are allowed to remain if they ask to do so.

The six men each face a charge of conspiracy to seize an aircraft by force and violence, which is punishable by a minimum of 20 years in prison, prosecutors said. If acquitted, it was unclear whether the men would be deported, Becerra said.

The six men, arraigned before a federal magistrate Thursday, were to be jailed without bond until their next court appearance Tuesday. They had not been assigned attorneys as of late Thursday.

Shortly after the airplane took off, the hijackers, some armed with knives, broke down the cockpit door, removed four of the crew and restrained them with tape and rope, FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela said. They then ordered the two pilots to fly to Key West, she said.