A passenger aboard a flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Salt Lake City broke his leg last week after jumping from the emergency exit of the plane during takeoff, according to reports.
Luis Antonio Victoria Dominguez of La Paz, Mexico, allegedly tried to break into the airplane’s cockpit Friday before the leaping onto the tarmac during takeoff and claimed to have been under the influence of methamphetamine, reports said.
The 33-year-old man, who has since undergone surgery to his right leg, is now expected to appear in federal court this week on a charge of interference with a flight crew and faces 20 years in prison if convicted.
Dominguez reportedly arrived in Los Angeles last Tuesday from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, according to a criminal complaint released Monday by the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles, which shed light on the events that led up to the bizarre incident on June 25.
Dominguez told the FBI that his ultimate destination was Salt Lake City, but lacking a connecting flight, he said he spent the night at a hotel in downtown Los Angeles, where he drank several beers and met someone who sold him “a lot” of crystal meth for $20.
The next day, he smoked more of the drugs and decided to fly to Utah instead of taking a bus, but then began wandering aimlessly throughout the night and wound up missing the flight.
On Friday, he missed a second flight but was rescheduled to board United Airlines Flight 5365, operated by SkyWest Airlines, to Salt Lake City, The Associated Press reported. Dominguez took his seat and began to doze as he “was coming down from all the drugs he had used the last couple of days,” the complaint says.
A female passenger sitting next to Dominguez later told authorities that the man kept looking around nervously and fidgeting. The two were exchanging small talk when he leaned over and whispered to her that he needed to get off the plane and was going to jump out.
“I’m serious,” he said.
Dominguez, however, told the FBI that he panicked after hearing other passengers joking about the plane flying to an unexpected destination, the complaint says.
Around 7 p.m. Dominguez “sprinted” toward a flight attendant at the front of the aircraft and said he wasn’t feeling well and desperately needed to get off the plane.
The flight attendant told him the plane was about to take off and a struggle ensued, the complaint says.
From there, Dominguez allegedly pounded on the locked cockpit door and tried to pry it open it as the pilots on the other side were perplexed by the commotion but continued to prepare for takeoff.
Dominguez failed to access the cockpit, but did manage to wrench open the exit door and the emergency slide deployed as the flight attendant called out to the pilots to stop the plane, prosecutors allege.
But the aircraft began rolling away from the gate as Dominguez struggled with a passenger who also tried to restrain him, AP reported.
Dominguez broke away and leaped out of the door.
He missed the emergency slide and broke his right leg after landing hard on the tarmac. He was trying to crawl away from the plane when authorities moved in and placed him under arrest.
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