 During flight, he carried a concealed pistol and sat next to the entrance to the cockpit.Sonthi and other junta leaders flew to Chiang Mai on an Air Force C-130 on 3 November 2006 to visit a prominent fortune-teller and perform a religious ceremony to ward off bad luck over their staging of the coup.The fortune teller, Varin Buaviratlert, had been Sonthi's long-time personal fortune-teller, and had foretold Sonthi's rise to become Army Commander.