A man allegedly threatened a woman with a razor on a JetBlue flight

SALT LAKE CITY, UT (KTVX) – A Utah man was arrested after allegedly threatening a woman with a razor on a JetBlue flight from New York to Salt Lake City on Monday.

Merrill Darrell Fackrell, 41, has been charged in federal court in Utah with one count of carrying a weapon on an aircraft and one count of assault with a dangerous weapon under the special aviation jurisdiction of the United States.

According to charging documents, Fackrell was sitting near a window talking to a woman sitting next to him while her husband worked and watched a movie in the aisle. After a “long and varied” conversation, the woman reportedly followed her husband to the restroom at the back of the plane.

When the woman and her husband returned to their seats, she reportedly put on her headphones and began watching a movie. She said she heard Fackrell talking to himself, but she ignored him.

That’s when Fackrell put his hand in front of the woman’s screen and told her to pause the movie, according to charging documents.

“[The woman] removed her headphones and realized that Fackrell had grasped his hand with what appeared to her to be a knife several inches from her skin in the throat/neck area near the collar of her shirt,” the indictment said. “Fackrell then stood up and started shouting, ‘She’s going to be fine’ and ‘no one needs to worry.'”

Fackrell allegedly told the woman’s husband to “get the hell out of there,” prompting him to go to the front of the plane for help. The woman reportedly ran toward the aisle to escape, freeing herself from Fackrell, who allegedly grabbed her shoulder to try to stop her.

A nearby passenger intervened after the woman walked to the front of the plane, convinced Fackrell to put down the razor and handed it over for safekeeping, according to charging documents. The passenger next to him then sat next to Fackrell for the rest of the flight.

Fackrell allegedly had “several alcoholic beverages” leading up to the incident. The Salt Lake City Police Department and an FBI task force officer are investigating.