Man Sentenced For Opening JetBlue Emergency Exit

Angel Luis Morales Torres was sentenced on Aug. 4 in federal court in Boston after prosecutors said he opened an emergency exit door on a JetBlue plane as it taxied for takeoff at Logan International Airport in January 2025. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said Morales Torres, 25, received one year of probation from Senior U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor. The court also ordered him to pay about $60,000 in restitution. Prosecutors said the incident left the aircraft inoperable after the emergency slide deployed. ### Who was sentenced, and what did prosecutors say he did? Angel Luis Morales Torres, a Puerto Rican man, pleaded guilty in May 2026 to one count of damaging or disabling an aircraft, according to the Justice Department. Prosecutors said the case stemmed from a Jan. 7, 2025 incident aboard a JetBlue flight scheduled to travel from Boston to Puerto Rico. (justice.gov) On Jan. 7, 2025, Morales Torres was a passenger on the aircraft when, while the plane was on the taxiway preparing for takeoff, he stood up, ran down the aisle and moved into an empty emergency exit row, prosecutors said. A flight attendant tried to restrain him, and another passenger eventually tackled him, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. ### How did the emergency door opening affect the flight? (justice.gov) Prosecutors said Morales Torres managed to open the emergency exit door before he was fully restrained. The opening caused the inflatable emergency slide to deploy, the Justice Department said. The deployed slide rendered the aircraft inoperable, according to the sentencing and guilty-plea announcements. (justice.gov) Federal prosecutors did not say in the releases how many passengers were on board or how long the flight was delayed, but they described the conduct as damage to the aircraft under the federal charge. ### What sentence did the judge impose? Senior U.S. (justice.gov) District Judge F. Dennis Saylor sentenced Morales Torres to one year of probation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said on Aug. 4. The court also ordered approximately $60,000 in restitution. In May 2026, Morales Torres had pleaded guilty to the single count against him after a federal grand jury indictment in March 2025. (justice.gov) At the time of the plea, prosecutors said the charge of damaging or disabling an aircraft carried a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, though actual sentences are determined by a federal judge under statutes and the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. ### Which agencies handled the case? The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston Division, announced the case outcome. The office said the Massachusetts State Police provided special assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Maynard of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case, according to both Justice Department releases. (justice.gov) The sentencing announcement was issued on Aug. 4, 2026, nearly three months after Morales Torres entered his guilty plea on May 12, 2026. ### What happens next under the judgment? The Aug. 4 judgment leaves Morales Torres subject to probation supervision and restitution payments ordered by the court. (justice.gov) The Justice Department said the sentence followed the guilty plea entered in Boston federal court and closed the criminal case announced by prosecutors this week.