Heroic passenger describes efforts taken to subdue Mass. man who had violent outburst on flight

BOSTON — ”He just immediately became at a high level of agitation,” says Jeff Neil, a United Airlines Passenger.

Neil describes the reaction of Francisco Torres when a flight attendant questioned him about tampering with the emergency exit door on the plane. According to FBI reports, Torres admitted wanting to jump out of the plane.

“He made it clear that if he had the opportunity, he would kill all passengers on the plane,” says Neil.

It didn’t stop there. In one passenger’s cell phone video, it shows Torres heading down the aisle. That’s when Neil says he followed him.

“I did not know at the time that he had something in his hand. He ended up charging toward the flight attendant which is just unfortunate. They are simply doing their job,” says Neil.

Authorities accuse Torres of breaking a metal spoon in half and stabbing a flight attendant with it. Neil says he and other passengers restrained him before he could harm anyone else.

“He certainly was trying to free himself from us and he didn’t go down in my mind, he didn’t go down very easily,” says Neil.

In all of Neil’s traveling, he says he’s never experienced anything like that flight and was relieved it landed and state troopers were waiting.

“It is certainly shocking because you are on a plane in a tight space, there’s nowhere to go,” says Neil.

By now, we’ve heard about numerous incidents of many scares in the air. Just this week, FAA Director Billy Nolen testified about plane safety. Neil thinks part of the problem centers around mental health.

“Maybe United Airlines can begin to lead the other airlines around how do we address some of the aggression and how do we address some of the anxiety and mental illness that is affecting our employees,” says Neil.

Neil says the whole time he was thinking about the safety of his wife who was sitting next to him on the plane. He also emphasizes he is not a hero saying he was in the right place at the right time and credits the other passengers who stepped in too.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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