Investigators said Torres admitted knowing that if he opened the door many people would die. When he came out of the bathroom, Torres said he went into the galley, disarmed the door, and tried to open it unsuccessfully with the idea of jumping out of the plane, according to the document. Passengers tackled Torres, who was restrained with the assistance of the crew.Īccording to a charging document, Torres told investigators that he went into the airplane's bathroom and broke a spoon in half to make a weapon. The crew told the captain that he was a threat and the plane should be landed as soon as possible.Īt 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. The crew secured the door and slide.Ī door in a airplane cannot be opened once in flight due to cabin pressure.Īnother flight attendant had noticed that Torres was seen near the door and believed he had tampered with it, authorities said. 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.Ī flight attendant noticed the door’s locking handle had been moved out of the fully locked position about a quarter of the way toward the unlocked position and that the emergency slide arming lever had been moved to the disarmed position, authorities said. An email seeking comment was left with his federal public defender. The man was detained at an initial appearance in federal court on Monday and awaits a hearing scheduled for Thursday.
He was charged with interference and attempted interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon, the statement added. attorney's office in Boston said in a statement. BOSTON (AP) - A Massachusetts man tried to open an airliner's emergency door on a cross-country 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 Monday.įrancisco Severo Torres, 33, of Leominster, was tackled and restrained with the aid of passengers and arrested Sunday at Boston Logan International Airport when United Airlines Flight 2609 landed, the U.S.
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