Police arrest JetBlue passenger who opened emergency exit, prompting security concerns

(CNN) — The Massachusetts State Police were called to Boston’s Logan International Airport Tuesday evening after a JetBlue passenger opened an aircraft door, deploying the emergency slide, the police and airline told CNN.

At around 7:30 p.m., authorities responded to JetBlue flight 161 after a passenger “who wanted to deplane opened an aircraft door suddenly and without warning,” police said in a statement.

Other passengers quickly restrained the individual until troopers arrived to detain them for further questioning. The arrested passenger is expected to face charges and will be arraigned in East Boston District Court on Wednesday morning, police said.

“A customer, for unknown reasons, opened an overwing exit while the aircraft was taxiing at Logan, causing the deployment of an emergency slide,” JetBlue told CNN, deferring any further inquiries to law enforcement officials. The individual remained on board the aircraft while police were summoned to the scene.

The incident comes hours after two people were found dead in the wheel well of a JetBlue plane at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport after it had completed a flight from New York, adding to a troubling string of recent stowaway cases raising concerns about airline security. A body was also recently discovered in the wheel well of a United Airlines plane that flew from Chicago to Maui on Christmas Eve.

The identity of the person on the Boston flight has not been released pending the finalization of charges. Preliminary information suggests this was an “isolated incident” and there is no belief it “poses a threat to public safety,” authorities said.

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