The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts says that a United Airlines passenger was arrested after he allegedly tried to open an emergency exit door and then tried to stab a flight attendant.
The problem happened on a flight from Los Angeles to Boston on a Sunday.
Federal prosecutors say that Francisco Severo Torres, age 33, tried to stab a flight attendant in the neck with a broken metal spoon after he was caught messing with the door. Prosecutors said that other people on the plane tackled him and that the flight crew helped hold him down.
Court records say that Torres later told police that he went into the bathroom to break the spoon “to make a weapon” According to court records, Torres also told investigators that he thought a flight attendant was trying to kill him, so he tried to kill the flight attendant first.
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Prosecutors say the trouble started 45 minutes before the plane landed when an alarm went off about a door between first class and coach that wasn’t locked.
Prosecutors said that a flight attendant found that the door’s locking handle wasn’t in the fully locked position and that the emergency slide arming lever was in the “disarmed” position.
Court documents say that Torres tried to open the door but couldn’t. He then “had the idea to open the emergency exit door and jump out of the plane,” the documents say.
Prosecutors say that after the door was locked again, a flight attendant told his coworkers that he saw Torres near the door and thought he messed with it.
The flight attendant then talked to Torres, who, according to prosecutors, “asked if there were cameras showing that he had done so.”
The flight attendant was then attacked by Torres, according to prosecutors. Court records show that the flight attendant told the police that he wasn’t hurt.
Simik Ghookasian, one of the passengers, told ABC News that when the suspect got loud, he thought it was just an argument, but then the man started yelling and screaming. Ghookasian said that when the suspect saw another passenger filming the incident, he started screaming and running towards the man who was filming.
Ghookasian said that a few “microseconds” later, about five people, including himself, jumped on top of the suspect and tackled him. They took a broken spoon out of his hand and a cigarette lighter out of his pocket.
Ghookasian, who is a volunteer for the Red Cross, said he asked for zip ties so they could tie the suspect’s hands and feet. He said a group of passengers held the suspect down for the rest of the flight, which was about 20 minutes.
He said that the event was like something from a movie. Ghookasian said that he studied homeland security in college and has had a lot of training that he thinks has helped him get ready for something like this.
United thanked its crew and passengers for taking “quick action” and said, “The flight landed safely, and law enforcement was there to meet it.”
Prosecutors said Torres was charged with one count of using a dangerous weapon to interfere with flight crew and attendants or try to do so. Torres went to court for the first time on Monday and was taken into custody. On Thursday, he will go back to court.
Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO, said in a statement, “When incidents like this happen, it not only puts the safety of the crew at risk, but it also makes it harder for Flight Attendants to respond to medical, safety, or security emergencies.”
“This is just one more reason why there needs to be a national list of disruptive passengers who are banned,” Nelson said. “We want the Protection from Abusive Passengers Act to become law.” Aaron Katersky and Vera Drymon from ABC News helped with this story.
