JetBlue flight chaos as man rips open emergency exit and tries to jump out after argument

A JetBlue passenger tried to jump out of a flight from Boston to San Juan in Puerto Rico and ripped open the emergency door before being tackled by other passengers

A passenger opened an emergency door and tried to jump out of a plane after reportedly arguing with his girlfriend.

There was sudden panic on board the plane at Boston Logan International Airport which was heading for San Juan in Puerto Rico when the incident happened on Tuesday night. The JetBlue flight was taxiing for takeoff when the man ripped open the exit door but was quickly restrained by other passengers, authorities said.

A witness sitting nearby told how the man appeared to be having an argument with his girlfriend over a phone before becoming angry. He then got up and walked down the aisle to the exit door where he was tackled by an air marshall.

"They were like freaking out," the passenger Fred Wynn told WCVB-TV. "They were like, 'Stop, stop'." He continued: "Boyfriend and girlfriend were arguing behind me. Boyfriend got mad, got up walked down the centre aisle, grabbed the emergency door, ripped it off, completely off. FBI agent tackled him, handcuffed him. Shortly after, state police came on board and took him off."

The unnamed JetBlue passenger is now expected to face charges and be arraigned, Massachusetts State Police spokesman Tim McGuirk said. The door was opened about 7:30 pm "suddenly and without warning," Mr McGuirk said.

A statement from Massachusetts State Police also said officers responded to reports of a disturbance on the plane. It read: "Shortly before takeoff, a passenger who wanted to deplane opened an aircraft door suddenly and without warning. Other passengers restrained the individual until troopers arrived on scene to detain them for further questioning."

The opening of the overwing exit door caused an emergency slide to deploy aboard JetBlue flight 161 from Boston to San Juan, the airline said in a statement. JetBlue said the flight was eventually swapped to another aircraft and landed in San Juan.

Passengers on other flights say they were also delayed because of the incident. "They just said there was a disabled plane on the runway, which was a little concerning, never heard that before," said Tim Wahl, who was arriving in Boston from Phoenix, reported CBS News.

Mr Wahl said that his plane had to circle over the airport and it was when it landed that he realised what was the cause. "We flew over the plane that was stopped. There was a bunch of police outside, apparently somebody deployed the emergency slide. Wild," Mr Wahl said.