Co-Pilot Uses Ax to Stop Man From Invading Cockpit

A passenger tried to force his way into the cockpit of a United Airlines flight bound from Miami to Buenos Aires on Thursday, only to be subdued after the co-pilot struck him over the head with an ax, officials said.

Argentine authorities detained Pablo Moreira, 28, after the plane landed here at its regularly scheduled arrival time. The incident occurred five hours into the flight as the Boeing 777 flew over Brazil.

Moreira, a Uruguayan bank employee, told Argentine air force investigators who questioned him that he was returning home from a marketing conference in the United States. He said he had no memory of the incident and had no idea why he rushed the cockpit.

“He says he feels very sorry about what happened,” said Jorge Reta, an air force officer here. Moreira told authorities he drank a glass of whiskey and later passed out. “That’s all he remembers,” Reta said.

Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for President Bush’s Office of Homeland Security, said there was no information to suggest that Moreira’s actions were the latest terrorist attack on a U.S. airliner.

The incident on United Flight 855 came amid a climate of heightened security at world airports. In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, United and other U.S. airlines have reinforced their cockpit doors with an interior metal brace that makes it harder for intruders to gain access.

FBI officials and a United spokesman said Moreira kicked in a panel at the bottom of the cockpit door and then tried to squeeze his head and torso in. The co-pilot struck Moreira’s head as it protruded through the half-open door, using an ax provided to the crew for flight emergencies.

“The bottom panel of the door was penetrated, but it’s my understanding the rest of the reinforced door performed as it was intended to,” Federal Aviation Agency spokeswoman Laura Brown said.

The FAA has issued new standards for further upgrading cockpit doors to resist force and small-arms fire. Airlines are expected to begin installing these new, even sturdier doors soon.

Flight 855 carried 142 passengers and 12 crew members on an eight-hour flight from Miami to Buenos Aires. Passengers described being awakened--the incident took place about 3 a.m. Eastern time--by the sound of the captain calling for help on the public address system.

“We heard the voice of the captain yelling desperately for people to come to the cockpit,” passenger Lucia Pilia said. “The flight attendants starting running like crazy.”

In five minutes, everything was back under control, passengers said. Reta said the unruly passenger was restrained with plastic handcuffs. Other passengers said Moreira was tied to a seat in business class.

“They tied him up with seat belts, like a stuffed piece of beef,” Pilia said. Officials said Moreira was treated for minor injuries after the plane arrived in Buenos Aires and Argentine police boarded the aircraft.

Critics said the incident demonstrates that even a reinforced cockpit door, such as the one on the United plane, can be vulnerable.

“The fact of the matter is that he got on the airplane and, once aboard, he was able to breach the barrier from the cabin to the cockpit,” said airline captain Tom Frazer, head of the Allied Pilots Assn. local in Miami. “That is a major concern. What have we accomplished since Sept. 11? Supposedly we have been working to avoid this very situation.”

Airline pilots in the United States are petitioning the government to be allowed to carry firearms. This latest incident is likely to bolster their case.

“The crash ax worked this time,” Frazer said. “If there had been two or three intruders, I doubt it would have.”

United spokesman Joe Hopkins took issue with criticism that the incident revealed a weakness in security.

“I think just the opposite,” he said. “The redundancy built into the security system worked. This person was not able to gain access to the cockpit and carry out whatever he proposed to do.”

In Miami, FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela said Moreira is expected to be flown back to Miami today. He faces the possibility of a 20-year prison term on federal charges of interfering with a flight crew, she said.

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Tobar reported from Buenos Aires and Alonso-Zaldivar from Washington. Times staff writer John-Thor Dahlburg in Miami contributed to this report.