BOSTON: A Massachusetts man tried to open an airliner’s emergency door on a flight from Los Angeles to Boston and then tried to stab a flight attendant in the neck with a broken metal spoon, federal prosecutors alleged on Monday. Francisco Severo Torres, 33, of Leominster, was tackled and restrained with the aid of passengers and arrested on Sunday at Boston Logan International Airport when United Airlines Flight 2609 landed, the US attorney’s office in Boston said. He was charged with interference and attempted interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon, the statement added. The man awaits a hearing scheduled for Thursday.
The plane was about 45 minutes from arrival in Boston when the crew received an alarm that a side door on the aircraft was disarmed, prosecutors said. The crew then secured the door and slide. Another flight attendant had noticed that Torres was seen near the door and believed he had tampered with it. The crew told the captain that he was a threat and the plane should be landed as soon as possible. At that point, prosecutors allege, Torres got out of his seat, approached two flight attendants standing in the aisle, and used the spoon to make stabbing motions, hitting a flight attendant three times in the neck area. Passengers tackled Torres, who was restrained with the assistance of the crew.
The plane was about 45 minutes from arrival in Boston when the crew received an alarm that a side door on the aircraft was disarmed, prosecutors said. The crew then secured the door and slide. Another flight attendant had noticed that Torres was seen near the door and believed he had tampered with it. The crew told the captain that he was a threat and the plane should be landed as soon as possible. At that point, prosecutors allege, Torres got out of his seat, approached two flight attendants standing in the aisle, and used the spoon to make stabbing motions, hitting a flight attendant three times in the neck area. Passengers tackled Torres, who was restrained with the assistance of the crew.