We hear about bad behavior on flights all the time, but this past Monday, a passenger went beyond just rude behavior. He is now being prosecuted for assault after putting a blade to a woman’s throat on a JetBlue flight
Passenger Put a Razer Blade to a Woman’s Throat on Flight
According to this US Justice Department press release, on Monday, November 21, 41 year old Merrill Darrell Fackrell from Syracuse, Utah was flying from JFK to Salt Lake City on JetBlue flight 871.
He was seated in a window seat next to a married couple. During the flight, he put his hand in front of the woman’s screen (she was sitting in the middle) and told her to pause her movie. Here is the text from the press release about what happened next:
According to the complaint, the woman took off her headphones and realized Fackrell had his hand clutched with what appeared to her as a knife, inches from her skin at her throat/neck area. The woman’s husband went to the front of the aircraft to get assistance from the flight attendant. The woman lunged for the aisle to escape and Fackrell reached and tried to stop her by grabbing her shoulder. The object was secured and later identified as a Facon wood-handled straight edge razor with a one-to-two-inch blade.
According to the release, this would appear to be the type of blade used
In addition to being charged with assault this week, he was also charged for carrying and using a straight edge razor blade. The flight had landed on-time in Salt Lake City that day.
I cannot imagine how traumatizing that had to be for the woman and her husband and I am so relieved that the incident ended without her being injured. JetBlue had not released a statement about this but I imagine there will be one at some point and I will add it in then.
Featured image courtesy of JetBlue
