Catching up with Reverend Jonathan Whirley's private plane

Reverend Jonathan Whirley indicated that he would be flying to Acapulco. When the left off it still at night, and by the time they caught up with him with the help of a Northrop T-38 police jet, it was already dawn so it's fair to say that he was in Mexico airspace. When I first saw the movie, two things immediately came to mind:

#1.
Did Whirley fly all the way back to Los Angeles, or did he land at an airport that just happened to be under his plane in Mexico? Joe Friday indicated with his hand to land right underneath him.

#2.
As a criminal, I'm surprised that Whirley didn't attempt some kind of hostage plan such as threatening to hurt Connie Swaile if the police did not back off in order to try to escape.