Travelers aboard a flight from Los Angeles to Boston were left shaken up after a passenger not only threatened to kill other people but also tried to stab a flight attendant!
The chaotic scene went down on Sunday night less than an hour before the United Airlines flight landed, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
The man who caused all the commotion was identified as Francisco Severo Torres, a 33-year-old from Leominster, Massachusetts. Just 45 minutes before the plane was scheduled to land at Logan International Airport, an alarm went off in the cockpit that a door between first class and coach was disarmed, and a flight attendant found that the door’s handle was moved about a one-fourth of the way to being unlocked, NBC reports. When a flight attendant confronted Torres about what happened, he allegedly asked if cameras caught him doing it and started to get angry. That’s when the plane’s employee urged the captain to land the plane as soon as possible, as Torres appeared to be a threat to the plane and the people on it. From there, that’s when things started to go even more left…
Not only did Torres approach two flight attendants standing in the aisle near the door, but he allegedly lunged at one of them with a broken metal spoon, hitting them around the neck three times, prosecutors said. That’s when the passengers and crew tackled Torres.
Passengers on the plane told investigators that, during a safety briefing, Torres was showing signs of someone being suspicious as he allegedly asked someone to show him on one of the seatback safety cards where to find an emergency door handle. They also reported seeing Torres pacing before the attack with the broken spoon.
As a result of the scary incident, Torres was arrested. He appeared in federal court Monday and was held ahead of a hearing Thursday. If convicted, Torres faces up to life in prison, according to prosecutors.
a United Airlines representative did release a statement to NBC10 Boston saying the customer “was restrained after becoming a security concern” by the plane’s crew and other customers. “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,” their statement said.
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