When a deranged passenger attempted to open the emergency exit midflight – things escalated quickly.
Brave passengers were eventually able to restrain him – but not before the out-of-control passenger used a makeshift spoon shank and lunged towards a flight attendant attempting to stab him in the neck.
This incident was caught on tape – and we have the video for you below so you can watch the madness unfold.
To start, passengers behaving badly on planes has reached a whole new level of insanity.
What used to be an inconsiderate guy reclining his seat or a lady walking around barefoot on the plane has now escalated into passengers actually assaulting flight attendants (and other passengers).
And on a recent United Flight from Los Angeles to Boston, 33-year-old Francisco Torres had a meltdown and started yelling out threats saying he was taking over the plane and there was going to be a bloodbath.
He then lunged forward and made his move.
"I will kill every man on this plane!" A madman goes on a mid-air rampage on a #United flight from L.A., threating to kill other passengers before trying to stab a flight attendant. Eyewitness News with the terrifying takedown. Tonight at 11 from ABC7 https://t.co/Agn5TBtCQz pic.twitter.com/losm00DV66
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) March 7, 2023
Thankfully, no one was seriously injured, but many passengers on the plane were seriously shaken.
And rightfully so.
These days, being a flight attendant is more than serving stale pretzels and weak coffee.
Flight attendants often have to step in and control unruly passengers and they risk their lives in doing so.
Likewise, passengers are forced to deal with other passengers completely losing it like Torres did.
So what caused the most recent outburst on the United Flight?
Apparently, Torres thought the flight attendants were targeting him – and he started asking them if they had footage of him tampering with the exit door.
At this point, the flight crew believed Torres was a threat to the aircraft, and then things unfolded quickly.
Paddle Your Own Kanoo reported:
“Shortly thereafter, it is alleged that Torres got out of his seat and approached the starboard side door where two flight attendants were standing in the aisle,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said on Tuesday.
Torres mouthed something at the flight attendants and then allegedly “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 rushed to the aid of the flight attendants and managed to restrain and subdue Torres before law enforcement met the aircraft on arrival in Boston.”
Once the plane landed Torres was arrested and the judge recommended a mental health evaluation even though Torres didn’t want one.
Thankfully Torres was taken down on the plane – but this story could have had a much different ending if the passengers hadn’t intervened.
Many travelers want to put on their EarPods and simply go to sleep – but these days we must stay vigilant when flying because anything could happen.
How would you respond if you saw an irate passenger on a plane?
Do you think you would step in and intervene?
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