A United Airlines passenger was arrested after he allegedly tried to open a plane emergency exit door and then allegedly tried to stab a flight attendant, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts.<\/p>\n
The incident took place during a Sunday flight from Los Angeles to Boston.<\/p>\n
Francisco Severo Torres, 33, allegedly tried to stab a flight attendant in the neck with a broken metal spoon after he was confronted about tampering with the door, federal prosecutors said. Fellow passengers tackled him and the flight crew helped restrain him, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n
Torres later told police he went into the bathroom to break the spoon “to make a weapon,” court records said. Torres also allegedly told investigators he believed a flight attendant was trying to kill him, so he tried to kill the flight attendant first, according to court records.<\/p>\n
MORE: Passenger at Pennsylvania airport knew he had explosive in his luggage, FBI agent says<\/a><\/p>\n The incident began about 45 minutes before the flight landed, when the crew received an alarm about a disarmed door between the first class and coach sections, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n A “flight attendant found that the door\u2019s locking handle had been moved out of the fully locked position … and that the emergency slide arming lever had been moved to the ‘disarmed’ position,” prosecutors said.<\/p>\n Torres allegedly tried to open the door unsuccessfully and had “the idea to open the emergency exit door and jump out of the plane,” according to court records.<\/p>\n After the door was relocked, a flight attendant told his colleagues that he saw Torres by the door and thought he tampered with it, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n A flight attendant then confronted Torres who allegedly “responded by asking if there were cameras showing that he had done so,” prosecutors said.<\/p>\n Torres then allegedly attacked the flight attendant, according to prosecutors. The flight attendant told police he wasn’t hurt, according to court documents.<\/p>\n United thanked the “quick action” of its crew and passengers, adding, “The flight landed safely and was met by law enforcement.”<\/p>\n Torres was charged with one count of interference and attempted interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon, prosecutors said. Torres made an initial appearance in court Monday and was detained. He\u2019s set to return to court on Thursday.<\/p>\n Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO, said in a statement, “When incidents like this happen, it not only risks the safety of the crew involved, it takes away from Flight Attendants’ ability to respond to medical, safety, or security emergencies.”<\/p>\n “This is another example of the urgent need for a national banned disruptive passenger list,” Nelson said. “We call on Congress to pass the Protection from Abusive Passengers Act.\u201d<\/p>\n ABC News’ Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n Passenger allegedly tries to stab flight attendant, open emergency door<\/em><\/a> originally appeared on <\/em>abcnews.go.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n