Federal charges have been filed against a man accused of attacking a flight attendant and trying to open a plane’s emergency exit door during a weekend flight to Boston.
Francisco Severo Torres, 33, was on board a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles when a flight attendant believed he attempted to tamper with the emergency exit door, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
About 45 minutes prior to landing at Boston Logan International Airport, crew members were alerted that the “starboard side door” had been disarmed, the federal prosecutor’s office said. A flight attendant who went to inspect the door noticed the handle had been moved toward the unlocked position.
The attendant, who was not identified, secured the handle and went to notify fellow crew members. Another attendant noted that Torres had been by the door earlier and suspected he might have tampered with it, federal officials said.
“A flight attendant then confronted Torres about tampering with the door, to which he allegedly responded by asking if there were cameras showing that he had done so,” the prosecutor’s office said.
The captain was notified that Torres might pose a threat to the flight and asked to land as soon as possible. Torres later approached the same door as two flight attendants stood near it, according to the prosecutor’s office.
“Torres then 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,” the prosecutor’s office said.
Passengers tackled Torres and helped the crew restrain him until landing, where he was taken into custody.
The airline said that no injuries were reported.
Passengers interviewed after the flight landed told authorities that Torres had asked someone about where the door handle was located on the plane’s safety card, the prosecutor’s office said.
Torres has been charged with a count of interference and attempted…
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