Man arrested for trying to open plane’s emergency door, stabbing flight attendant near Boston

A Massachusetts man was arrested Monday for allegedly stabbing a flight attendant three times with a metal spoon after trying to open a plane’s emergency door.

During a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Boston on Sunday, the flight crew received an alarm that one of the plane’s doors had been disarmed about 45 minutes before landing at Boston’s Logan International Airport, the Justice Department said.

A crew member went to investigate and found Francisco Severo Torres, 33, near the door. He allegedly asked the attendant if there were cameras on board that may have captured him tampering with the door.

“According to court documents, the flight attendant then notified the captain that they believed Torres posed a threat to the aircraft and that the captain needed to land the aircraft as soon as possible,” the Justice Department said.

Torres then got out of his seat into the aisle, lunging “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,” according to DOJ.

Torres was tackled by other passengers and he was taken into custody after the plane landed safely.

He was charged with interference and attempted interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon. He was detained pending a hearing set for Thursday.

Torres faces a sentence of up to life in prison, up to five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. He’s also been banned from flying with United.

“Thanks to the quick action of our crew and customers, one customer was restrained after becoming a security concern on United flight 2609 from Los Angeles to Boston,” United said in a statement.

“We have zero tolerance for any type of violence on our flights, and this customer will be banned from flying on United pending an investigation. We are cooperating with law enforcement in their investigation,” it added.