BOSTON — A man accused of opening the door of a plane taxiing out of Logan Airport Tuesday night was arraigned in East Boston District Court on Wednesday.
23-year-old Angel Torres Morales of Puerto Rico was charged with one count of interfering with the operation of an aircraft.
Torres was on JetBlue flight 161 from Boston to San Juan when he allegedly opened an overwing exit while the plane was taxiing around 7:15 p.m., causing the emergency slide to deploy, according to an airline spokesperson. Other passengers restrained Morales until police arrived.
At his arraignment, Morales’s attorney said he suffered a psychotic episode and didn’t even remember what had happened. He was reportedly traveling home to Puerto Rico after visiting friends in Boston.
Torres’s mother told Boston 25 News outside of court that Torres got in a fight with his girlfriend and that’s why he opened the door of the plane.
Todd McGhee, as a part of Massachusetts’s State Police, served as the lead trainer for Logan Airport’s Antiterrorism Unit from 2002-2008.
“It’s much more than opening a door,” he told Boston 25 Wednesday night.
McGhee was certain that Torres Morales would be accompanied during his flight back to San Juan Thursday.
He continued, “The airlines would never allow this person to fly alone once again. It’s one strike and you’re done.”
His attorney told Judge Debra DelVecchio that Morales suffered from some mental health issues in his youth and is open to getting an evaluation.
Judge DelVecchio ordered Morales held on $500 bail and not to travel except to and from Puerto Rico for court appearances. He was also ordered to continue with mental health assessment and treatment including medication.
Morales is due back in court on March 4 for a pretrial hearing.
“Incidents like this are extremely disruptive to passengers and to flight crews and to airport personnel, not to mention the criminal consequences for the person causing the disturbance,” Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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