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JetBlue Passenger Arrested After Using Lighter to Ignite Onboard Blankets, FBI Says

The FBI says a woman used a lighter to ignite the blankets.

ByABC News
September 8, 2016, 2:17 AM
In this file photo, JetBlue Airways Corp. planes sit on the tarmac as a passenger waits in Terminal 5 at John F. Kennedy International Airport airport in New York, Aug. 7, 2015.
In this file photo, JetBlue Airways Corp. planes sit on the tarmac as a passenger waits in Terminal 5 at John F. Kennedy International Airport airport in New York, Aug. 7, 2015.
Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images

— -- A passenger on board a Puerto Rico-bound JetBlue aircraft was arrested Tuesday after setting fire to two blankets with a lighter, the FBI announced.

According to a statement released Wednesday by the FBI's field office in San Juan, Puerto Rico, passenger Idializ Gomez "utilized a lighter to ignite and successfully damage two blankets and a portion of the in-flight control panel of the seat next to hers" on JetBlue flight # 745.

Gomez boarded the aircraft -- which was bound for Ponce, Puerto Rico -- at approximately 12:43 a.m. at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport.

At approximately 4:31 a.m., the aircraft landed in Ponce, and Gomez was detained by police. She was then placed in FBI custody.

The FBI charged and arrested Gomez for destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities, the federal agency said. It was unknown if Gomez has a lawyer.

"The incident is under investigation and we are cooperating with law enforcement," JetBlue said in a statement. "Additional inquiries should be directed to the FBI."

ABC News' Brendan Rand and Matthew Foster contributed to this report.