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A passenger who allegedly charged the cockpit of a taxiing plane at Los Angeles International Airport told authorities he smoked “a lot” of crystal meth prior to the frightening incident, court documents show.
Luis Antonio Victoria Dominguez, 33, whispered to a passenger next to him on Friday’s United Airlines Flight 5365 that he planned to jump out of the plane as it readied to depart, according to court documents obtained by the Washington Post.
“I’m serious,” the woman recalled him saying.
Victoria Dominguez, of La Paz, Mexico, then allegedly dashed to the front of the plane and banged on the cockpit door, trying to get inside. After not breaching the door, he opened an emergency exit door and hopped out of the plane, breaking his right leg, court documents show.
Victoria Dominguez had arrived at LAX on Tuesday, hoping to get to Salt Lake City, but he didn’t have a connecting flight planned.
He instead visited a hotel in downtown Los Angeles, where he downed several beers and used $20 to buy “a lot” of crystal meth, according to an account he gave FBI investigators.
Victoria Dominguez then relocated Wednesday to another downtown Los Angeles hotel, where he smoked meth “on and off” throughout the day while deciding he wanted to fly to Utah rather than taking a bus, according to a complaint filed Sunday by the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
He told authorities he smoked more crystal meth Thursday and left a hotel to catch a flight out of LAX, but missed it and left the airport to wander the streets. He then returned to the airport again Friday – only to miss his flight a second time before rescheduling a spot on Flight 5365 en route to Salt Lake City, according to the complaint.
Victoria Dominguez said he started to come down from “all the drugs he had used in the last couple of days” when he took his seat. He then overheard passengers “laughing and talking” about the flight going to another destination than Salt Lake City, the complaint states.
That sent Victoria Dominguez into a panic, prompting him to unbuckle his seat belt and charge to the front of the plane, according to the complaint.
When he couldn’t get inside the cockpit, he allegedly pushed a flight attendant aside and focused on an emergency door, which he then allegedly opened and partially deployed its slide, the complaint states.
Another passenger then grabbed Victoria Dominguez to try to keep him inside the cabin, but he broke free as the moving plane came to a halt, falling onto the tarmac and breaking his leg, according to the complaint.
Airport police took Victoria Dominguez into custody before he was taken to a hospital. He now faces up to 20 years in prison for interfering with the flight crew. It’s unclear if he’s hired an attorney, the Washington Post reported.
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