Man tries to open jet’s door, attacks crew

Federal authorities said a man tried to open an emergency exit door during a cross-country United Airlines flight Sunday before attempting to stab a flight attendant with a broken spoon.

Francisco Severo Torres, 33, was charged in federal court in Boston on Monday with interfering with a flight crew using a dangerous weapon.

Torres was a passenger onboard United Flight 2609 from Los Angeles to Boston. As the flight approached its destination, federal prosecutors said, the crew received an alarm indicating one of the doors on the plane had been disarmed. A flight attendant went to investigate and found the door handle was about a quarter of the way open.

Another flight attendant thought Torres might have tampered with the door, prosecutors said. The crew confronted him and flight attendants determined Torres posed a danger, authorities said.

Torres got out of his seat and went to one of the plane’s galleys, according to prosecutors. He mouthed something the flight attendants couldn’t hear before thrusting at one of their necks with the broken spoon. Prosecutors said passengers helped the crew to restrain Torres, who was taken into custody when the plane landed in Boston.

Torres, of Leominster, Mass., had an initial appearance before a judge Monday and remains in custody pending another hearing.