Gadling

Talk about an immature way to handle a tough shift. Eder Rojas, a Compass Airlines flight attendant who was unhappy that he was assigned to fly to Saskatchewan decided that he would get back at his employer, a subsidiary of Northwest Airlines, by lighting the plane on fire.

Shortly after liftoff, apparently Rojas set up his beverage cart then stewed his way back to the rear lavatory, where he took a lighter the paper towel holder. It obviously started smoking, which set the smoke alarm in the cockpit off, which prompted an inquiry from the pilot. Now with the lav starting to burn, Rojas played dumb and he and another passenger quickly had to put the fire out to prevent the entire aircraft from going up.

Once the feds started asking questions and found the lighter in an overhead bin, Rojas fessed up to sneaking the contraband past security and starting the fire.

How foolish and angry do you have to be to try to start your aircraft on fire while it's traveling at 600MPH? While the maximum penalty for his crime is twenty years in prison, the fact that he put seventy six lives at risk should call for a public beating and some time in a stockade.