Latest news with #passengerthreat
Daily Mail
04-07-2025
- Daily Mail
American Airlines flight is diverted mid-air after passenger freaks out over neighbor's text message
A frightened passenger caused an entire American Airlines flight to divert back to the airport after they wrongly panicked over a seatmate's text messages. The AA Flight 1847 to Dallas, Texas, was forced to abort and return to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Thursday due to concern the flight was in immediate danger. An unnamed female passenger became spooked when she oversaw her neighbor received a text that said 'Rip' 30 minutes into their journey. She interpreted the message as threatening, causing staff to declare an emergency and divert back to the island, according to local news site Primera Hora. Pilots told the tower they weren't 'sure what's going on' and declared the emergency simply because the flight was overweight, but were returning due to an unknown threat. Pilots told the tower they were treating the threat as a 'level three,' meaning it could be life-threatening to passengers. 'We have a threat onboard,' the pilot said in audio obtained by Daily Mail. 'With text messaging between passengers and flight members, so we're going to need authorities at the gate to meet us just to figure out what's going on here.' The tower asked if the cockpit was secure and the pilot confirmed, before reiterating: 'We just have a threat from out back, we're not even sure it's even credible at this point. 'But, you know, with the way things are this holiday weekend and everything else, we figured the best course is just to be safe as possible.' Upon landing, the message was investigated by Aerostar, the security company at the Puerto Rican airport. It was determined that the passenger had received the text about a relative who had died the day before. The passenger was traveling home from vacation early, Primera Hora said. TSA also inspected the aircraft and did not find a threat. Nelman Nevárez, Aerostar's director of operations, told the outlet: 'It was a mix-up that was handled in accordance with safety protocols. There was no real threat to the flight or its passengers.' The plane took off for Dallas shortly after and landed in the States shortly before 2pm local time.
News.com.au
15-05-2025
- News.com.au
Shocking moment passenger tries to stab flight attendant and open emergency exit
This is the terrifying moment a crazed passenger tried to stab a flight attendant and open the emergency exit while mid-flight. Shocking footage shows Francisco Severo Torres, 34, threatening fellow passengers on a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Boston in March 2023. About 45 minutes into the journey, a flight attendant reportedly raised the alarm after noticing shady behaviour near one of the plane's emergency exits. Torres was confronted by the flight attendant and asked if he had tampered with the door. That was when he got out of his seat and marched back over to the door. Shocking footage taken by a fellow passenger shows Torres shouting that he was 'taking over this plane' and that he would 'kill every man on this plane'. The crazed passenger then lunges at a flight attendant, trying to stab them with a broken metal spoon. Torres beat the flight attended three times around the neck, according to federal prosecutors. Passengers then tackled Torres and he was restrained with the assistance of flight crew. Once the plane landed at Logan Airport the man was detained. Torres later told police he had wanted to open the door to jump out of the plane – and said he knew many people would die if he did, according to charging documents. Torres has pleaded guilty to the attack, admitting to one count of interference and attempted interference with flight crew using a dangerous weapon, according to the office of Massachusetts US Attorney Leah Foley. This comes after a passenger was tackled by fellow flyers after attempting to pull the plane's emergency exit lever while at 35,000 feet. The Plus Ultra flight 701 was heading from Madrid, Spain, to Caracas, Venezuela on 28 February when the incident took place. The Airbus A330 was about halfway through its journey, flying high over the Atlantic Ocean when the man became 'restless'. A Plus Ultra spokesman said: 'A passenger began to feel restless, annoying the person in the next seat with shouts and slapping him while he was asleep. 'The crew acted quickly, calming the situation between the two and relocating the passenger to another seat where he could not disturb anyone. 'Moments later, this individual suddenly went to one of the doors of the plane trying to manipulate it. 'Immediately, our cabin crew subdued the passenger and, following the action protocol, secured him in the back of the plane until he reached the destination. 'At all times he was accompanied by two people from the crew, lying on the ground and attended to avoid any possible altercation.' The passenger was reportedly detained after the plane landed in Caracas. It is unclear exactly what prompted the man to try to open the plane door. It is nearly impossible to open modern plane doors after they have reached around 10,000 feet. This is because the difference between the internal cabin pressure and the outside air pressure effectively seals the doors. Some aircraft have a special flight lock feature that mechanically closes the door after the aircraft reaches a certain speed.
