A 33-year-old man is arrested after attempting to open the emergency exit door and then attempting to stab a flight attendant in the neck with a broken metal spoon on a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Boston.
- Francisco Severo Torres, 33, was charged with interfering with flight crew members and using a dangerous weapon
- He was flying from Los Angeles to Boston on Sunday when he was seen tinkering with an emergency exit door.
- Confronted with a flight attendant, he attempted to attack them with a broken spoon, but was held back by the crew and other passengers.
A Massachusetts man has been arrested after attempting to open a plane door in midair and then attempting to stab a flight attendant with a broken spoon.
Francisco Severo Torres, 33, was charged with one count of interference and attempted interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon.
The flight captain radioed air traffic control to tell them that Torres had been stopped by passengers but was “not going quietly,” and that six people were holding him down as the plane landed.
Torres had boarded United Airlines Flight 2609 Sunday in Los Angeles, bound for Boston.
With 45 minutes remaining on the journey, a member of the cabin crew reported that an emergency exit had been tampered with.
A plane is seen landing at Boston Logan International Airport. Torres was arrested there on Sunday.
United Airlines Flight 2609 from Los Angeles to Boston landed safely on Sunday and Torres was detained
A flight attendant noticed that the door lock handle had moved out of the fully locked position about a quarter of the way toward the unlocked position.
The emergency slide arming lever had also been moved to the disarmed position, authorities said.
The crew secured the door and slide.
Another flight attendant had noticed Torres near the door and believed he had tampered with it. The crew told the captain that he was a threat and that the plane had to land as soon as possible.
At that point, prosecutors allege, Torres got up from his seat, approached two flight attendants in the aisle and used the spoon to make stabbing motions, striking one flight attendant three times in the neck area.
He was held by other passengers and crew.
The captain told air traffic control that they had had an incident.
“The person is arrested, attempt to open an external emergency door,” he said, in audio obtained by CBS Boston.
‘That person was subdued and is being detained right now; He doesn’t go quietly though: he’s just lying there with six trained bodies on top of him.’
United praised the quick thinking of the crew and passengers.
“Thanks to the swift action of our crew and customers, a customer was restrained after becoming a security concern on a flight from Los Angeles to Boston,” United said in a statement.
‘The flight landed safely and was met by the police. No serious injuries were reported.
The airline said Torres was immediately banned from flying on its flights.
“We have zero tolerance for any form of violence on our flights, and this customer will be banned from flying United pending investigation. We are cooperating with law enforcement in their investigation.
A passenger told investigators that Torres had asked where on the security card it showed where the door handle was located during the flight attendants’ pre-takeoff safety briefing.
Another said Torres was seen walking around the plane before attacking the attendant.
The charge of interference and attempted interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon carries a sentence of up to life in prison, up to five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.