Man Sentenced After Opening JetBlue Emergency Exit During Taxi At Logan Airport

BOSTON, MA — A Puerto Rican man was sentenced in federal court after pleading guilty to opening an emergency exit door aboard a JetBlue flight preparing for takeoff at Boston Logan International Airport, according to the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts.

Angel Luis Morales Torres, 25, was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay approximately $60,000 in restitution. Morales Torres pleaded guilty in May 2026 to one count of damaging or disabling an aircraft. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2025.

The incident occurred on Jan. 7, 2025, aboard JetBlue Flight 161, an Airbus A320 scheduled to fly from Boston to San Juan, Puerto Rico. According to court documents, the aircraft was taxiing for takeoff when Morales Torres stood up from his seat, ran down the aisle and entered an empty emergency exit row, where he began attempting to open the emergency exit door.

A flight attendant tried to restrain Morales Torres before another passenger tackled him, prosecutors said. Before he was subdued, Morales Torres managed to open the emergency exit door, deploying the emergency evacuation slide and rendering the aircraft inoperable. No injuries were reported, and JetBlue later arranged for passengers to continue to San Juan on another aircraft.

Senior U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor imposed the sentence.

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