Mass. man pleads guilty to trying to stab flight attendant, open airplane door midflight in 2023
A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to attacking a flight attendant with a broken metal spoon after trying to open an airliner's emergency door on a Boston-bound flight in 2023.
Francisco Severo Torres, 34, of Leominster, pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of interference and attempted interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement on Tuesday.
U.S. District Court Judge Patti Saris scheduled sentencing for July 17.
Torres was charged by criminal complaint in March 2023 following his arrest at Boston Logan International Airport. A federal grand jury subsequently indicted Torres in September 2023.
On March 5, 2023, Torres was a passenger aboard a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Boston.
The flight was just 45 minutes from landing at Logan Airport when the scary moments on board happened. The flight crew received an alarm in the cockpit that a starboard side door located between the first class and coach sections of the aircraft was disarmed.
Video captured by Lisa Olsen, who was seated a couple of rows in front of Torres on the 2023 flight, showed Torres hurling threats before charging at a flight attendant with a broken metal spoon. Federal investigators said at the time that Torres struck her three times in the neck area.
Olsen said at the time that Torres had somehow managed to break out of zip tie restraints.
The cell phone video shows Torres yelling threats that he would 'kill every man on this plane' and 'I'm taking over this plane.'
'Tell them to bring SWAT because they're going to have to shoot me down today,' Torres is heard saying in the video. 'Where are they diverting us? Because wherever it is, there's going to be a bloodbath everywhere.'
During those harrowing moments in the air, a flight attendant found that the door's locking handle had been moved out of the fully locked position – approximately a quarter of the way towards the towards the unlocked position – and that the emergency slide arming lever had been moved to the 'disarmed' position.
The flight attendant reported this to the captain and flight crew after securing the door and emergency slide.
Another flight attendant then reported that he had witnessed Torres near the door and believed Torres had tampered with the door.
A flight attendant then confronted Torres about tampering with the door, to which he responded by asking if there were cameras showing that he had done so, prosecutors said.
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.
A short time later, Torres got out of his seat and approached the starboard side door where two flight attendants were standing in the aisle, prosecutors said. One of the flight attendants saw Torres mouthing something that he could not hear.
'Torres then thrust 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,' Foley said in her statement.
Passengers tackled Torres and he was restrained with the assistance of the flight crew. Torres was immediately taken into custody by state police upon the flight's arrival at Logan Airport.
Passengers who were aboard the flight later reported that Torres asked a fellow passenger where on the safety card it showed where the door handle was located during the flight attendants' safety briefing prior to takeoff. They also reported seeing Torres pacing in a galley before attacking the flight attendant.
Following his arrest in 2023, Torres was also accused of attacking two guards at the Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, Rhode Island, where he was being held. According to court documents, Torres struck the officer in the face a few times.
Torres faces a sentence of up to life in prison, up to five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
'Cannon' test boosts Karen Read's defense, showing taillight damage consistent with thrown bar glass
Karen Read's legal team is nearing the end of the case for her defense with crash reconstruction expert Dr. Daniel Wolfe called to the stand Friday. It was the 28th day of her retrial on murder and other charges in the death of her former boyfriend, a 46-year-old Boston police officer named John O'Keefe. Wolfe is the director of accident reconstruction at a firm called ARCCA. On the witness stand Friday, he said ARCCA designed a specialized "cannon" to simulate throwing a cocktail glass at Read's taillight and determined that similar damage could have been caused if someone threw the glass at around 31 mph and 37 mph. "From the 37 mile per hour test, we are getting damage that's generally consistent, and by that I mentioned we have portions of the outer lens missing, the underlying diffuser," he said. "There was also some fracturing on the backside of the assembly. So again we observed damage that was generally consistent with that of the subject taillight." Wolfe said he gave an opinion that the damage Read's SUV was generally consistent with someone throwing that drinking glass at at least 37 mph. In another ARCCA test, the reconstructionists wanted to see if an impact between the taillight and the back of O'Keefe's head could've caused his skull fracture. Wolfe said he tested at 15 mph. Damage to the test taillight was significantly more than Read's taillight at that speed – but it didn't generate enough force to cause a skull fracture. Prosecutors accused Read, 45, of hitting O'Keefe with her 2021 Lexus SUV and driving away as he died on the ground with a skull fracture during a blizzard. The defense denies that she struck him and has called witnesses who have attributed his injuries to other causes, including a dog bite and a potential fistfight with a man Read was flirting with behind his back. GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB Special prosecutor Hank Brennan unsuccessfully tried to have Wolfe and a colleague, Dr. Andrew Renstchler, blocked from testifying before the start of the trial. Wolfe testified during the first trial, which ended with a deadlocked jury, that damage to Read's SUV is inconsistent with a collision involving O'Keefe. Read told reporters outside court Wednesday that her defense could rest as soon as next Tuesday. There was no court on Thursday. She could face up to life in prison if convicted. Her first trial, in which the defense claimed she had been framed, ended with a deadlocked jury last year.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Tallahassee ICE raid sparks questions, but still no answers from feds
A week after federal immigration agents detained more than 100 people at the construction site of a student housing complex in Tallahassee, authorities are declining to discuss why they targeted the site. The warrant for the raid, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida and signed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Martin A. Fitzpatrick, is still sealed. Many questions remain unanswered, among them: Who was the warrant for? What was the probable cause for the warrant? How many people were detained? Where were they taken? There also has been little information given by the companies who employed the detained workers taken from their job site on May 29. While some workers have already been removed to their countries of origin, there are still friends and family members of those who were handcuffed or zip-tied and led onto buses who say they are still awaiting phone calls from their loved ones. One laborer at the construction site said people were afraid to come back to work this week, and those who did in the days after the raid all had work permits or documentation. Questions sent to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement by the USA TODAY Network about where the detainees have been sent and other details about the raid have gone unanswered. The site of the raid is a construction site for Perla at the Enclave, a student housing complex that will contain 218 units, according to Zimmer Development Co. of North Carolina. The company touts more than 260 projects across more than 150 cities in the United States with more than $4 billion in developed assets, according to its website. As previously reported, the $100 million Perla project in Florida's capital is located a short walk from Doak Campbell Stadium, the football stadium for the Florida State University Seminoles, and is the sixth project for Zimmer in Tallahassee. Questions emailed to Zimmer Development executives have not been answered, and when a reporter called and identified herself on the phone, the company's in-house counsel hung up. A spokesperson for Hedrick Brothers Construction, another company involved in the Perla project, said in an email that a representative of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations told the company neither it nor the project site were the focus of the investigation. The company also had no prior knowledge of the raid and has been told little about it: "We understand the operation was part of a broader criminal investigation unrelated to our company or the project, but that is all of the information we have been provided." None of Hedrick Brothers' employees were detained, and the company requires all independent subcontractors to use E-Verify, a web-based system that allows companies to confirm the eligibility of employees to work in the U.S. But the spokesperson did say people employed by one of its subcontractors were detained during the raid. "We remain committed to ethical business practices, full legal compliance, and transparency as this investigation unfolds," the spokesperson said. At the same time of the raid at the construction site, federal and local law enforcement descended on a gated home a few miles away on the north side of Tallahassee. The home has the same address as a business listed as Nino's Carpentry Shop. A spokesperson for the Leon County Sheriff's Office called it an an 'active and fluid' investigation and said the operation was not an immigration enforcement issue, but declined to comment if the raid was linked to people associated with the raid at the construction site. Ana Goñi-Lessan, state watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network – Florida, can be reached at agonilessan@ This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Families still await answers after Tallahassee immigration raid
CBS News
14 hours ago
- CBS News
Angels reportedly accused Red Sox of stealing signs, leading to pregame shouting match Wednesday
David Ortiz on state of the Red Sox, including Alex Cora's job security and the Devers situation David Ortiz on state of the Red Sox, including Alex Cora's job security and the Devers situation David Ortiz on state of the Red Sox, including Alex Cora's job security and the Devers situation Before the Red Sox and Angels had a chance to close out their three-game series at Fenway Park on Wednesday, the two teams got into a heated pre-game argument on the field. Coaches from both teams had to be separated as they jawed back and forth with each other. The loud and animated confrontation reportedly came after Los Angeles accused Red Sox first base coach Jose Flores of stealing signs during Monday's game, according to WEEI's Rob Bradford. It started when Angels pitcher Tyler Anderson had words with Flores, and erupted from there as Flores got into it with Angels pitching coach Barry Enright. That prompted a number of Red Sox players to take the field before the situation was defused. There was kerfuffle between the Angels and Red Sox a little while ago with words exchanged along third base line. Seemed to start with Angels pitcher Tyler Anderson having words with Red Sox coach Jose Flores. Numerous Sox players came over to that side of the field — Rob Bradford (@bradfo) June 4, 2025 After cooler heads prevailed, Boston manager Alex Cora was seen having a conversation with Anderson. NESN initially posted video of the altercation to the station's X account ahead of Wednesday's game, but later deleted the post. At least The Section 10 podcast saved the video and posted it on its X account for all to see: Coaches and players chirping before the game. Everything is going great at Fenway. — Section 10 Podcast (@Section10Pod) June 4, 2025 Anderson was reportedly upset over Flores stealing signs from first during his Monday start, and confronted him on the field about it Wednesday, according to Bradford. Anderson gave up five runs over 4.1 innings on Monday, with the Red Sox scoring four of those runs in the fifth inning. How a first base coach can steal signs with the new PitchCom remains unknown, but Anderson was clearly miffed about something. Now we'll wait to see if there are any carryover fireworks in Wednesday's series finale. It's the final time the Angels will play at Fenway Park this season, though the Red Sox head out West for a three-game series in Los Angeles from June 23-25. The Angels won the first two games of the current three-game series, which has sent the scuffling Red Sox to a 29-34 record for the season.
