Arrest Warrant Issued For Eder Rojas

The former Compass Airlines flight attendant charged with starting a fire in an aircraft lavatory in May, to show his displeasure for having to work a run out of Minneapolis to Regina, Saskatchewan, failed to show up for a mandatory court appearance in Fargo, ND Friday.

The Associated Press reports US District Judge Rodney Webb was not amused... and issued an arrest warrant for Eder Rojas, who was reportedly last seen at a halfway house about 3:30 am Friday morning.

Rojas' tale is one of a troubled young man. As ANN reported in June, the 19-year-old confessed he deliberately started a fire in the rear lavatory of the Embraer 175 during the May 7 flight, because he was upset the airline made him work that route. He stuffed an extra packet of paper towels in the lav's dispenser just before the flight left Minneapolis, and later reached into the lav and lit the towels on fire before starting beverage service.

The flames forced Flight 2040 to divert to Fargo, where it made an uneventful emergency landing. None of the 72 passengers and four crewmembers onboard were injured, though they were questioned by FBI agents and police upon arrival.

A federal prosecutor later said Rojas was also crewing a flight whose bathroom caught fire about five weeks earlier. The prosecutor said in both cases, Rojas helped put out the blaze.

Despite his confession, Rojas pleaded not guilty in June to the charges. Throughout this time, Rojas maintained an active account on the popular social networking site MySpace... boldly proclaiming "iM BaCK iNoCeNt UnTiL pRoVeN GuiLty!!! (sic... and Good Lord -- Ed.) His last login was September 1.

Initially, Rojas was remanded to his father's custody... but was later ordered to the halfway house, for unspecified reasons. On Friday, Defense attorney Steven Light told Webb his client has been "incredibly unreceptive," and won't speak to him.

FMI: www.compassairlines.com, www.ndd.uscourts.gov