The United States District Attorney’s office has reported that a man from Massachusetts, Francisco Severo Torres, is being charged after he allegedly tried to open an emergency exit door and then attempted to stab a flight attendant in the neck on a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Boston. The incident occurred on Sunday evening.
According to the charging documents, the flight crew received an alert that a side door of the aircraft had been disarmed right before the plane was about to land. A flight attendant claimed that they saw Torres near the door and suspected he had tampered with it. When confronted, Torres allegedly asked if there were cameras showing that he had done so. The crew immediately reported the incident to the captain and asked to land as soon as possible, as they believed Torres posed a threat to the aircraft.
It is alleged that shortly thereafter, Torres got out of his seat and approached the side door, where two flight attendants were standing in the aisle. Torres then allegedly used a broken metal spoon to stab one of the flight attendants three times in the neck area. Passengers restrained Torres, and he was taken into custody upon the flight’s arrival to Boston.
According to the US Attorney’s office, passengers on the flight reported that Torres had asked a fellow passenger where the door handle was located during the flight attendant’s safety briefing before takeoff and had been seen pacing in a galley before attacking the flight attendant.
Torres was arrested at Boston Logan International Airport on Sunday night and appeared in federal court on Monday. He is being held ahead of a hearing on Thursday.
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