A Bay State man has been arrested by the feds after he allegedly tried to stab a United Airlines flight attendant within the neck and tried to open the aircraft’s emergency exit door whereas aboard a flight to Boston Logan International Airport.
Francisco Severo Torres, 33, of Leominster, has been charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with one depend of interference and tried interference with flight crew members and attendants utilizing a harmful weapon.
Torres was arrested Sunday night at Boston Logan International Airport following the flight from Los Angeles.
About 45 minutes earlier than the flight arrived in Boston, the United flight crew obtained an alarm within the cockpit {that a} starboard facet door was disarmed.
A flight attendant discovered that the door’s locking deal with had been moved out of the absolutely locked place — a few quarter of the way in which towards the unlocked place — and that the emergency slide arming lever had been moved to the “disarmed” place. The flight attendant reported this to the captain and flight crew after securing the door and emergency slide.
Then, one other flight attendant reported that he had seen Torres close to the door, and believed Torres had tampered with the door. When a flight attendant confronted Torres about tampering with the door, he responded by asking if cameras confirmed him doing that.
According to court docket paperwork, the flight attendant then alerted the captain that they believed Torres posed a risk to the plane, and that the captain wanted to land the plane as quickly as doable.
Torres quickly after acquired out of his seat and approached the starboard facet door, the place two flight attendants have been standing within the aisle. One of the flight attendants noticed Torres mouthing one thing that he couldn’t hear.
The Leominster man then allegedly attacked one of many flight attendants utilizing a damaged metallic spoon, hitting the flight attendant on the neck 3 times.
Passengers tackled Torres, and he was restrained with the help of flight crew. Torres was taken into custody upon the flight’s arrival to Boston.
In later interviews, passengers reported that Torres had requested a fellow passenger concerning the security card — and the place it confirmed the situation of the door deal with in the course of the flight attendants’ security briefing previous to takeoff. Also, Torres was seen pacing within the galley earlier than attacking the flight attendant.
Following an preliminary look on Monday earlier than a U.S. District Court Justice of the Peace, Torres was detained pending a listening to set for Thursday.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”