A Massachusetts man was arrested after he allegedly attempted to open an emergency exit door and then tried to stab a flight attendant while on board a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles.
Francisco Severo Torres, 33, was charged with one count of interference and attempted interference with flight crewmembers and attendants using a dangerous weapon after his arrest on Sunday night, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston said.
Federal prosecutors said Torres was onboard a flight to Boston from L.A.
when 45 minutes before landing, an alarm in the cockpit went off that a starboard side door had been unlocked.
“Upon inspection, a flight attendant found that the door’s locking handle had been moved out of the fully locked position – approximately a quarter of the way towards the towards the unlocked position – and that the emergency slide arming lever had been moved to the “disarmed” position,” the department said in a press release.
Another flight attendant said he saw Torres near the door, which led to a confrontation. Torres allegedly asked if there were cameras showing he tampered with the door.
“It is alleged that during subsequent interviews, passengers who were aboard the flight reported that Torres asked a fellow passenger where on the safety card it showed where the door handle was located during the flight attendants’ safety briefing prior to takeoff and that Torres was seen pacing in a galley before attacking the flight attendant,” federal prosecutors said in the press release.
Moments later, Torres allegedly got out of his seat and approached two flight attendants and he “allegedly thrust towards one of the flight attendants in a stabbing motion with a broken metal spoon, hitting the flight attendant on the neck area three times.”
Torres was tackled by passengers and then restrained by the flight crew. He was arrested once the plane landed in Boston.
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