FARGO—United States Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on September 26, 2011, Eder H. Rojas, formerly from Woodbury, Minnesota, pleaded guilty before United States District Court Judge Ralph R. Erickson to a charge of setting an aircraft on fire.
Rojas, 21, pleaded guilty to setting fire to a Compass Airline approximately 35 minutes into the flight, which had originated in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 7, 2008. The plane was traveling to Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, and carrying approximately 72 passengers and four crew members. Rojas was working as a flight attendant on the plane. The aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing in Fargo, North Dakota.
In a later interview, Rojas admitted to agents that he had intentionally used a lighter to start the paper towels in the rear bathroom of the aircraft on fire. Rojas indicated his reason for starting the fire was that he was mad at the airline for making him work on that route.
Rojas was originally scheduled for trial in September of 2008. He was placed in a halfway house in Fargo pending trial. On the eve of his trial, Rojas fled to Mexico. Rojas was returned to North Dakota on August 3, 2011, through the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Marshals Service.
The charge of setting an aircraft on fire carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Fargo Police Department, and National Transportation Safety Board.
Sentencing for Rojas has been scheduled for December 16, 2011, in United States District Court in Fargo, North Dakota, at 10:00 a.m
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