US man arrested for trying to open plane's emergency door and stabbing flight attendant

A passenger on a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Boston in the US tried to open the emergency exit door and stab a flight attendant. The incident took place on Monday, March 6. The accused Francisco Severo Torres, 33, was arrested at Boston Logan International Airport.

What happened? 

• Nearly 45 minutes before landing in Boston, the crew on Flight 2609 saw an alarm go off notifying that a door in the place was disarmed.
• Upon inspection, the crew found an emergency door's locking handle was pushed out of fully locked position and the emergency slide arming lever was disarmed. 
• Soon after securing the door, the crew alerted the captain about the incident. 

Read here about why a door doesn't open mid flight.

• A fellow flight attendant reported a man, Torres standing near the door and believed that he had tampered with it. 
• When confronted, Torres asked for camera evidence. The crew also reported to the captain that the man posed a threat to the flight and they needed to land as soon as possible. 

🚨#WATCH: Terrifying video as a man attacks a flight attendant and attempts to open emergency exit during United Airlines flight
⁰📌#Boston | #MA
⁰Watch shocking video that shows a 33-year-old man trying to open an emergency exit door and attempting to stab a flight attendant… https://t.co/SntFwMd4Xk pic.twitter.com/lRihhHGIbQ

— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) March 7, 2023

• Soon Torres got off his seat and charged towards a flight attendant with a broken metal spoon and stabbed the attendant in the neck three times. 
• He was tackled and restrained by passengers and other flight crew. There were fortunately no injuries reported. 
• Torres was later arrested upon landing and charged with "interference and attempted interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon".
• The punishment under the charges includes life imprisonment, five years of supervised release and a fine of about $250,000 or Rs 2.04 crore.

[ALSO READ: When BJP MP Tejasvi Surya allegedly opened the emergency exit door on a flight]