Latest news with #aviationincident
Fox News
a day ago
- Fox News
Massachusetts man sentenced following violent in-flight rampage on board United Airlines flight
A Massachusetts man was sentenced this week after being captured on video attacking a United Airlines flight attendant during a trip from Los Angeles to Boston in 2023. Francisco Severo Torres, who plead guilty to one count of interference and attempted interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon, was sentenced "to time served (approximately 26 months in prison)," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts. Following the sentence, the 35-year-old from Leominster has five years of supervised release during which he is "prohibited from flying on a commercial aircraft," it added. Viral video captured on March 5, 2023, showed Torres shouting while standing above his seat, before taking off into the plane's aisle and attacking a stewardess with a broken metal spoon. Federal investigators said Torres hit the flight attendant on the neck area three times. "I heard the guy getting louder and louder, and I thought it was just an argument, but he started yelling and screaming and threatening people, threatening to kill them," Simik Ghookasian, a Los Angeles government contractor flying to Boston on United Flight 2609, said following Torres's arrest that year. Ghookasian added that he was among five or six passengers who piled onto Torres and removed the spoon from his grasp. "That guy was really strong and was really resisting," Ghookasian said. "We had a hard time holding him down. It was total teamwork." The Attorney's Office said about 45 minutes before landing, "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." "Upon inspection, 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 unlocked position – and that the emergency slide arming lever had been moved to the 'disarmed' position," it continued. "The flight attendant reported this to the captain and flight crew after securing the door and emergency slide." In follow-up discussions, "a fellow flight attendant reported that he had observed Torres near the door and believed Torres had tampered with the door," the Attorney's Office said. "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. 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," it added. "Shortly thereafter, Torres got out of his seat and approached the starboard side door where two flight attendants were standing in the aisle," according to the attorney's office. "Video taken by a passenger depicts Torres yelling at points that he would 'kill every man on this plane' and 'I'm taking over this plane.' 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. Passengers then tackled and restrained Torres with the assistance of flight crew. Torres was immediately taken into custody upon the flight's arrival to Boston. "
CBS News
3 days ago
- CBS News
More passengers join lawsuit after American Airlines plane fire at Denver International Airport
The number of passengers suing American Airlines over an engine fire earlier this year has grown to 17, attorneys for those plaintiffs say. The fire happened in March aboard a Boeing 737 that had taken off from Colorado Springs en route to Dallas. The flight was diverted to Denver International Airport, where it landed and taxied to a gate before flames erupted from one of the engines. One passenger, Gabrielle Hibbitts, told CBS News Colorado at the time that, "as soon as the plane landed, we smelled this weird burning plastic smell and then everybody started screaming and saying there was a fire." Attorneys Joe LoRusso and Jessica McByrant with Ramos Law filed a lawsuit against the airline in April. Since then, they have added more names to the complaint. In June, the National Transportation Safety Board issued a preliminary report on the fire. Investigators found a broken fan blade and said some engine components were either loose or improperly installed. "There was maintenance items on board that right engine, parts installed incorrectly, safety wires backwards, to the point where fuel was spraying," LoRusso, himself also a pilot, said. LoRusso said the legal team is aware of a more recent fire involving another American Airlines plane at Denver International Airport and is tracking similar incidents across the country. While that fire from last week isn't directly tied to the March case, he said it underscores a broader concern. "It's certainly seeming to be a systemic problem, whether through maintenance, policy, or procedures," he said. In a statement to CBS News, American Airlines said, "The safety of our customers and team members is our top priority and we are cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board in its investigation." The NTSB investigation is still ongoing.
CNN
4 days ago
- CNN
Passengers evacuated from plane onto Denver runway after landing gear issue sparked fire and left 1 injured
More than 150 passengers on an American Airlines flight departing from Denver International Airport Saturday were evacuated onto the runway after a 'possible landing gear incident' left one person injured and sparked a fire, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. After the Boeing 737 MAX 8 experienced a 'maintenance issue' involving an aircraft tire prior to takeoff, emergency personnel at the airport and the Denver Fire Department responded to the issue and those on board were evacuated on the runway, according to American Airlines and Denver International Airport. The evacuation is the latest in a string of alarming aviation incidents at Denver International Airport – the sixth busiest airport in the world. In March, dozens of passengers were forced to stand on the wing of an American Airlines plane as they evacuated the aircraft after one of its engines caught fire. A month later, a United Airlines plane hit an animal on takeoff and shot out fire. On Saturday, passengers on the plane, which was departing to Miami International Airport with 173 passengers and six crew members, panicked when they heard a loud bang and saw flames before being evacuated on a slide attached to the plane. The combination of blown tires and the deceleration of the plane during braking resulted in a brake fire that was extinguished by the Denver Fire Department, according to American Airlines. 'All customers and crew deplaned safely, and the aircraft was taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team. We thank our team members for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for their experience,' the airline said. Five people were evaluated at the scene, and another person was evaluated at a gate and taken to the hospital with a minor injury, according to the airport and airline. The plane had been scheduled to depart from the gate at 1:12 p.m. local time, according to FlightAware, and the incident occurred around 2:45 p.m., the FAA said. FlightAware data shows 240 flights out of Denver International Airport were delayed as of Saturday evening. Customers will depart to Miami on a replacement plane later today, according to the airline. The FAA is investigating the incident. The evacuation comes a day after a harrowing moment for passengers on a Southwest Airlines flight. A privately owned Hawker Hunter fighter jet crossed less than two miles in front of a Boeing 737 plane within a few hundred feet of its altitude, according to the flight tracking site Flightradar24. Shay Armistead, a 17-year-old passenger from Minturn, Colorado, who was headed to Santiago, Chile, for a ski trip with her club team, said Saturday's ordeal was 'kind of traumatizing.' As the plane moved down the runway, passengers heard a loud bang and believed the tire popped, Armistead said. 'The plane started vibrating and shaking really bad,' she told CNN. 'We started tilting to the left side of the runway, and then we heard the sound of the wind from them lifting up the brakes of the plane and slamming on them really hard.' Just a few seats down, Armistead's teammate, 16-year-old Margaret Gustafson, had a clear view out of the window and saw the maintenance issue, she said. Gustafson said she knew something was wrong when she saw flames coming out from under the plane. 'That's when I started fully panicking,' she said. When she heard a big boom, Gustafson was unsure where the noise came from. 'Some of us just thought we hit something and then we started really swerving on the runway,' Gustafson said. 'I personally grabbed my friend's hand who was in front of me because we didn't really know what was going on.' The scary moment was met by immense panic among passengers. 'One passenger was screaming, 'We're all gonna die,'' Armistead said. 'Another passenger was not sitting down and cooperating, and so it was kind of just a lot of panic.' Passengers lined up the back of the plane, where they slid down the slide attached to the plane, Armistead said. The entire evacuation process took about 10 to 15 minutes, she recalled. Although their ski trip plans were derailed, the teammates' flight was rescheduled to tomorrow morning. This story has been updated with additional information.
CBS News
4 days ago
- General
- CBS News
American Airlines jet at Denver International Airport evacuated due to landing gear incident
Passengers on board an American Airlines flight at Denver International Airport Saturday afternoon were evacuated due to an incident with the plane's landing gear during takeoff, officials confirmed. The Denver Fire Department said the problem occurred on board American Airlines Flight 3023 from Denver to Miami International Airport while the plane was still on the runway. The airline reported that all 173 passengers and six crew members on board were safely evacuated from the aircraft. One person was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, the airline said. The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the crew of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 "reported a possible landing gear incident during departure" at around 2:45 p.m. local time. Video posted to Instagram by passenger Mark Tsurkis showed passengers evacuating the aircraft using a slide as smoke and flames billowed from below the rear of the plane. The passengers were transported to the terminal by bus. The FAA said it is actively investigating the incident. Tsurkis, a resident of Miami and Colorado Springs, told CBS News Miami the terrifying incident happened right before the plane went airborne. "During the speed-up, when the plane almost took off, we heard a loud boom, and I said, 'That's not good,'" Tsurkis said. He went on: "It was definitely an unpleasant moment, but we were lucky that we didn't get up in the air yet, so we weren't airborne just yet, but I would imagine that it happened five to 10 seconds before we were airborne." Tsurkis said the pilots immediately began to slow the plane down and then brought it to a halt. About a minute later, other passengers began to notice smoke coming up from the aircraft, and evacuations began shortly after, he added. Five people were evaluated at the scene but were not transported for further treatment, the airport confirmed. However, one person was transported to a hospital for medical attention both the airport and airline confirmed. American Airlines said in its statement that the aircraft "experienced a maintenance issue prior to takeoff" involving one of its tires and has been taken out of service for inspection. Later Saturday evening, the fire department said that it had extinguished a fire after responding to the aircraft. The displaced passengers would depart for Miami on a replacement aircraft later Saturday, the airline said. FlightAware showed at least 306 flights at Denver International Airport had been delayed as of Saturday night. The airport said a ground stop was in place from 2 p.m. until shortly after 3 p.m. for all incoming flights that had not left their departure airports yet. Operations at the airport have since returned to normal. A separate incident involving an American Airlines aircraft happened at the airport in March when a plane suffered an "engine-related issue" and was diverted to Denver International Geisel contributed to this report.
CTV News
4 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Passengers flee smoking jet on emergency slide after apparent landing gear problem at Denver airport
DENVER — Passengers slid down an emergency slide of a smoking jet at Denver's airport due to a possible problem with the plane's landing gear, authorities said. American Airlines Flight 3023 reported a 'possible landing gear incident' during its departure from Denver International Airport on Saturday afternoon, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The Boeing 737 MAX 8 was on its way to Miami International Airport. Video aired by local media showed people sliding down the inflatable chute near the front of the plane while clutching luggage and small children. Some of the passengers, including at least one adult carrying a young child, tripped at the end of the slide and fell onto the concrete runway tarmac. The passengers were then taken to the terminal by bus. One of the passengers was transported to a medical facility, authorities said. Five people were evaluated for injuries at the scene but did not require hospitalization, Denver International Airport officials said in a statement. 'About halfway to takeoff speed, we hear a big bang and a pop,' passenger Shaun Williams told KUSA-TV. 'The pilot immediately started abort procedures for taking off. You could feel him start to hit the brakes.' Firefighters called to the airport extinguished a fire after responding to the aircraft, the Denver Fire Department said. In a statement, the FAA said it will investigate. Associated Press, The Associated Press
