NOS News•
A man has been arrested in the US on suspicion of trying to open a door of the plane during a flight. He also wanted to stab a crew member with a broken metal spoon, according to prosecutors.
The incident happened yesterday on a United Airlines domestic flight from Los Angeles to Boston. There, the 33-year-old man was arrested upon arrival.
About 45 minutes before landing, an alarm went off in the cockpit that an emergency door of the aircraft was unlocked. At the door, the crew found that the locking handle had moved a quarter. Also, the lever for the evacuation slide was in the unlocked position.
Stabbing movements
A crew member had seen the man at the door and suspected he had tampered with it. The pilot was then told that the man posed a risk and that the landing should be started as soon as possible.
According to the indictment, the man got out of his seat not much later and made stabbing movements towards the cabin crew with the broken spoon. He would have tried to stab a crew member several times in the neck. At that moment he was overpowered with the help of passengers. No one was injured, United Airlines reports.
Jump out of plane
The man later stated that he broke the spoon on the toilet to use it as a weapon. According to him, the cabin crew planned to kill him. About the emergency door, he said he wanted to open it because he wanted to jump out of the plane.
The American, from Massachusetts, has been charged with, among other things, the use of a dangerous weapon towards cabin crew. He could receive a life sentence, according to prosecutors.
The man started a lawsuit against a medical institution in 2021 because he believed he had been wrongly diagnosed with a mental disorder. He claimed to be “the greatest artist of all time” and demanded $ 50 billion and a license to carry weapons and explosives. The case was dismissed, reports NBC Boston.
