UTAH – Federal prosecutors filed a complaint against a Utah man who allegedly threatened another passenger with a knife aboard a flight from New York to Salt Lake City, Utah.
Merrill Darrell Fackrell, 41, was arrested Monday at the Salt Lake City airport and now faces criminal charges of assault and carrying a dangerous weapon on a plane, authorities reported on Tuesday.
According to prosecutors, the incident began on Monday when Fackrell boarded a JetBlue flight from New York City to Salt Lake City, Utah.
Prosecutors added that during the flight, Fackrell was seated next to a couple and began consuming “various alcoholic beverages.” At one point he then turned to the woman next to him and asked her to pause the film.
But when the woman turned to see Fackrell, he pulled out a knife and threatened her with it. Her husband then got up and went to ask the flight attendants for help.
“My husband went to get help because he knew something was wrong” the woman told KSL-TV, NBC’s Utah affiliate station. “He didn’t purposely leave me alone to deal with a man with a gun.”
The alleged knife was later confiscated by the plane’s employees. The pair were moved to the bow of the ship without incident. No injuries were reported.
It wasn’t immediately clear Thursday how Fackrell managed to get the razor onto the plane.
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Fackrell must remain in jail before his first hearing.
