US News
Utah man charged after allegedly bringing razor blade on flight, holding it near woman's neck
A Utah man is facing charges after allegedly bringing a straight edge razor blade on a flight and holding it near a passenger's throat.
The incident comes just weeks after a man brought two box cutters through security and onto a Frontier Airlines flight en route to Tampa.
Merrill Darrell Fackrell, 41, allegedly boarded a JetBlue flight Monday at JFK Airport in New York en route to Salt Lake City. During the flight, Fackrell was in the window seat next to a woman, when he allegedly placed his hand in front of her screen and told her to pause her movie, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Utah. The woman then realized Fackrell was holding what appeared to her as a knife, "inches from her skin at her throat/neck area," the release said.
The woman's husband then went to the front of the plane to get assistance from a flight attendant. The woman lunged for the aisle to escape and Fackrell reached and tried to stop her by grabbing her shoulder, according to the release.
MORE: Man who assaulted flight attendants, was duct taped on Frontier flight, sentenced to jail
The object was secured and later identified as a wood-handled straight edge razor with a one-to-two-inch blade.
In a statement to ABC News, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said it "take[s] our responsibility to secure the skies for the traveling public very seriously." The agency said it's introducing new X-ray technology at more airports to improve the capability to detect items such as the one used in this incident.
Fackrell was later charged with Carrying a Weapon on an Aircraft and Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in the Special Aircraft Jurisdiction of the United States.
"Crewmembers responded by working to de-escalate the situation and notified law enforcement who met the flight in Salt Lake City," JetBlue said in a statement Friday. "The safety of our customers and crewmembers is JetBlue’s first priority, and we will support law enforcement during their investigation."
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