Freaky Flight Attendant Starts Fire on Planeby Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger 17 May 2008 07:02 PM Talk about a disgruntled worker. Be happy you weren't on this flight: A Compass Airlines jet carrying 72 passengers and four crewmembers was forced to make an emergency landing in Fargo, North Dakota last week when an angry flight attendant deliberately set a fire in the plane's restroom. Luckily no injuries were reported, but those on board the flight said the incident led to some very frightening moments. According to news reports, Eder Rojas, a 19-year-old flight attendant with Compass, was allegedly upset about his work schedule so he decided to set the plane on fire. But he only partially succeeded, according to witnesses on board the jet bound for Regina, Saskatchewan from Minneapolis, Minnesota. According to court documents, smoke filled the back of the plane shortly after Rojas ignited paper towels with a lighter. The documents also noted that the teen employee, who hails from the Twin Cities suburb of Woodbury, admitted that he was angry at the airline for making him work the Minneapolis to Saskatchewan route. Rojas was reportedly so ticked off about his situation that, according to court records, he refused to finish preparing his cart to serve passengers and instead entered one of the plane's lavatories and lit paper towels with a lighter. The plane's pilot told authorities that that an indicator light came on about 35 minutes into the flight, showing smoke in the rear bathroom. The pilot went on to say that he called Rojas, who was assigned to service passengers in the back of the plane, and asked him to check the bathroom. According to court documents, Rojas, another flight attendant and a passenger all helped to put out the blaze with fire extinguishers. When investigators boarded the plane after it landed they found a lighter in one of the overhead bins. Authorities say Rojas confessed that he placed the lighter there shortly after he lit the paper towels. Currently, the teen is in jail and has been ordered to remain there without bail. Prosecutors say the charge of setting fire aboard a commercial aircraft carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Executives with Compass, a subsidiary of Northwest Airlines, based in Eagan, Minnesota, say Rojas has been fired, though they would not reveal how long he worked for the carrier. Related Articles: The One Thing You DON'T Want To See On An Airplane Benadryl Flight Attendant Saga---The Untold Story Mom and "Chatty" Tot Get Booted From Flight Coughing Teen Gets The Boot From Airline Breastfeeding At 35,000 Feet = High-Flying Controversy Learn more about Michele Cheplic  Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism. Relevanttravel tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags air travel, Compass Airlines, flight attendant, Fire, Travel Discuss this article
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