A 42-year-old man is facing several charges after waving a fake gun around the cabin of a plane, forcing the pilot to declare “mayday.”
Norman Wells RCMP say they received a call from the local flight services on Dec. 12 about an emergency landing. Police say that shortly after the flight took off, an intoxicated passenger allegedly began brandishing an “improvised” firearm in the cabin of the plane. The pilot was able to disarm the man and then made an emergency landing after declaring “mayday” over the airwaves.
Police boarded the plane and took the suspect into custody. Upon searching the individual, a second imitation firearm was allegedly found concealed in the man’s sleeve, according to police.
Derrick Mackeinzo of Deline is charged with endangering the safety of an aircraft, unruly or dangerous behaviour under the Aeronautics Act, possession of an offensive weapon onboard an aircraft, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, using an imitation firearm in the commission of an offence and failing to comply with probation order. He is in custody pending a future court appearance.