'I'm taking over this plane': Mass. man pleads guilty to trying to stab flight staff with spoon
A Leominster man admitted to trying to stab a flight attendant and attempting to open an emergency exit door on a flight from Los Angeles to Boston, United States Attorney Leah Foley's office said.
Francisco Severo Torres, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of interference and attempted interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon. Torres' sentencing was scheduled for July 17. After his arrest in March 2023, he was indicted in September 2023.
Torres was about a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Boston on March 5, 2023, Foley's office said in a statement. With 45 minutes left of the flight, the plane's flight crew received an alarm from the cockpit that an emergency exit door between first class and coach was unlocked.
A flight attendant found that the door's locking handle was out of position and the emergency slide arming lever had been moved to the 'disarmed' position, Foley's office said. The attendant reported this to the captain.
Passengers later told investigators that Torres asked another passenger where on the safety card it showed where the door handle was located during the flight attendants' safety briefing before takeoff, Foley's office said. He was seen pacing in a galley.
Not long after the door was found unlocked, Torres left his seat and approached two flight attendants in the aisle, the statement read. An attendant saw but could not hear Torres saying something. Video taken by a passenger showed Torres yelling that he would 'kill every man on this plane' and 'I'm taking over this plane.'
Torres then moved forward with a stabbing motion at one of the flight attendants, thrusting a broken metal spoon, Foley's office said. He struck her three times in the neck before passengers tackled and restrained him with the help of the flight crew.
Torres was arrested after the plane landed at Logan International Airport, Foley's office said.
The charge of interference and attempted interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon provides for a sentence of up to life in prison, up to five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
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