Eugene Nyavor
Francisco Severo Torres is a 33 year old Massachusetts man who has been arrested trying stab a flight attendant in the neck and also attempting to open an emergency exit door while aboard a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Boston.
Currently, Francisco Severo Torres, has been charged with one count of interference and attempted interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon.
Torres was arrested last evening at Boston Logan International Airport and, following an initial appearance today before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Dein, was detained pending a hearing set for March 9, 2023.
Details of what happened
According to Justice Department, Francisco Severo Torres had boarded United Airlines Flight 2609 on Sunday in Los Angeles, bound for Boston.
With 45 minutes of the journey remaining, a member of the cabin crew reported that an emergency exit had been tampered with.
A flight attendant noticed the door’s locking handle had been pushed out of the fully locked position and an emergency slide arming lever had been disarmed.
A flight attendant who saw Torres near the door went to talk to Torres about the door, according to the department, who asked if there were cameras showing he had tampered 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.
Soon after, Torres allegedly got out of his seat, mouthing something, before thrusting “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 department said.
Torres was then tackled by other passengers on the flight and was immediately taken into custody after the flight landed.
According to a criminal complaint, Torres told investigators he broke a spoon in half a bathroom on the airplane to use as a weapon.
He also told law enforcement that he tried to open the emergency door and “had gotten the idea” to jump out of the plane, according to the complaint.
