Man pleads guilty to attacking flight attendant during attempt to open plane door

A man who tried to open a cabin door and then attacked a flight attendant with a broken metal spoon on a passenger jet in 2023 has agreed to a deal that includes his release.

Francisco Severo Torres, 34, agreed to plead guilty to assaulting or intimidating a flight crew member following the 2023 incident on a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Boston, prosecutors said Tuesday.

The agreement, as filed in Boston federal court Monday, includes release for time served, 60 months of supervision upon release, compliance with mental health treatment, and fines and forfeiture.

The charge carries a maximum sentence of life behind bars.

The court on Tuesday ordered Torres be released to his mother, who resides in his hometown of Leominster, about 50 miles east of Boston. It also ordered Torres to appear July 17 for formal sentencing, according to a conditions-of-release filing.

Prosecutors said that on March 5, 2023, about 45 minutes before landing, Torres tried to open a plane’s door.

Responding flight attendants stood by the door, and when Torres approached again, he said he would “kill every man on this plane” and said he was “taking over” the aircraft, the office of the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts said in a statement on Tuesday.

The office cited cellphone video of the incident.

Torres then tried to stab one of the flight attendants in the neck with a broken spoon, the office said. No injuries were reported.

Passengers and flight crew subdued and held the man for authorities, who took him into custody when the plane landed at Boston Logan International, the office stated.

The FBI on Tuesday credited its agents and Massachusetts State Police for helping bring the case to a close.

United Airlines said in a statement the next day, “We have zero tolerance for any type of violence on our flights, and this customer will be banned from flying on United pending an investigation.”

The case included a motion to order a psychiatric evaluation, but it’s unclear if the order was executed. Torres’ court history includes an unsuccessful lawsuit against a hospital for allegedly refusing to serve him almond milk despite his vegan diet. It was dismissed.

Torres’ conditions of release also include no travel outside the state and, as filed in federal court, “No air travel, no trains.”