Man Detained After Allegedly Stabbing Flight Attendant And Trying To Open Door Mid-Air

A man from Massachusetts was tackled by passengers on board and later arrested after allegedly trying to open an emergency door mid-flight and then attempting to stab a flight attendant in the neck with a broken spoon.

Francisco Severo Torres, 33, was on a United Airlines Flight going from Los Angeles to Boston when it was reported that flight attendants had confronted Torres about allegedly tampering with an emergency exit door between first class and coach.

The flight was 45 minutes from landing at Logan Airport when the flight crew were told the side door was disarmed. The flight attendants then told the captain of the plane that they needed to land as soon as possible as they believed Torres posed a threat.

After being questioned, Torres was heard arguing with passengers, he was also heard asking for Homeland Security, repeatedly referring to himself as “Balthazar” and his father, “Dracula”.
Prosecutors said Torres then got out of his seat, walked towards two flight attendants at the side door and allegedly “thrusted towards one of the flight attendants in a stabbing motion with a broken metal spoon, hitting the flight attendant three times on the neck, according to prosecutors.

A passenger Lisa Olsen was on board the United Flight 2609 with her husband and teenage daughter.
In an interview he said,”He was talking about Nazis and raping women. I have my 17-year-old daughter next to me. She was crying. She was very upset. She wouldn’t even let me touch her. She thought we were going to crash.”

Torres was taken into custody immediately after the plane landed at Logan Airport. Torres faces up to life in prison if convicted, the U.S Attorney’s Office states in its press release. United Airlines also said Torres will be banned from flying with them.