JetBlue passenger opens emergency door during taxiing at Boston airport

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JetBlue passenger opens emergency door during taxiing at Boston airport

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Airbus A380 | Airbus

By Sky Industry News

Jan 9, 2025

The passenger accused of opening an emergency door on a JetBlue flight has appeared in court, as reported by 7 News Boston. Angel Luis Morales Torres was detained following the incident and faced the court in Boston on January 8, 2025, a day after the event.

Torres is charged with interfering with a flight for allegedly opening the aircraft door while JetBlue Flight 161 was taxiing for take-off at Boston Logan International Airport. This action caused the emergency slide to deploy. The flight was scheduled from Boston to San Juan's Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Puerto Rico.

A fellow passenger recounted witnessing the incident: “ [A] boyfriend and girlfriend arguing directly behind me and they got into a fight about a cellphone or something like that. [The] guy got mad, ran down the center aisle, grabbed the emergency door and ripped it off.”

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Torres had been in Boston attending a friend's Air Force Induction Ceremony before the incident. His defense attorney, Robert Carmel-Montes, stated that Torres experienced mental health issues leading to a psychiatric episode on board. Carmel-Montes remarked, “This is a highly unfortunate circumstance. I see it more as a medical issue than a criminal one, but obviously it’s in criminal form as we speak. My client is deeply remorseful and apologetic for the huge inconvenience that he caused everyone, allegedly, on that flight.”

After being released on $500 cash bail, Torres returned home to Puerto Rico but must return to Boston for court proceedings and cannot travel in the meantime.

JetBlue remains significant both in San Juan and Boston markets. It holds 25% market share in San Juan and operates three daily flights between Boston and San Juan alongside Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, and Spirit Airlines.

Recently, JetBlue faced another incident when two bodies were found in an Airbus A320's landing gear at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport after arriving from New York John F. Kennedy International Airport. The case is under investigation with JetBlue stating: "Tragically, both individuals were deceased... This is a heartbreaking situation."