A man from Utah was charged with attacking a woman with a razor blade late last week on a JetBlue flight from JFK to SLC. The incident comes one month after a trend of increasingly rowdy passengers took to the airways.
The incident
A man from Utah was charged with carrying a weapon on an airplane and assault with a dangerous weapon following an incident that involved an interaction with a married couple sitting next to him.
Authorities report that the woman sitting next to Fackrell was watching a movie with headphones in when he blocked the screen and said, “Put your headphones back on.” She then removed her headphones and realized he had been pointing a straight razor at her neck; the weapon was later determined to be just a straight razor. As her husband tried to get help from flight attendants, she was able to spring towards the aisle and escape.
After a few hours of trying, a separate passenger that was in the same row as Forrest Fackrell was finally able to convince him to give up the straight razor for safekeeping on the flight. Once Fackrell landed, he was arrested by local police.
Authorities are unclear how Fackrell was able to smuggle a razor blade through airport security and onto the flight. Furthermore, it is worth noting that he was very inebriated at the time of the incident and was reported stating incoherently during this entire time.
A growing trend
Unfortunately, things like this are not as uncommon as you might think. In fact, the TSA reports having conducted over 1,000 investigations into unruly passengers in 2019 alone–a drastic increase from just 183 done in 2018. According to their website, they’ve also received 2,178 incidents of disruptive passengers as of November 1st of this year. The TSA is right to be wary about disruptive travelers as air travel increases for holiday travel.
Now that the TSA is taking extra safety measures, you’ll have yet another layer of security to rely on. The agency is introducing new x-ray technology at airports that uses improved technology, which will be more effective at catching less obvious threats like straight razors in the assault by an individual named Fackrell.
It’s increasingly difficult to find a safe and relaxed experience when waiting for travel. In response, the TSA has been raising their standards on security. Although there was no harm done, the recent case of Fackrell escaping TSA screening highlights a significant flaw in their vetting procedures and is something that needs to be addressed urgently. Hopefully, the new security measures will help make future travel more tranquil and secure for all passengers.