diff --git a/logstash-core/src/main/java/org/logstash/Logstash.java b/logstash-core/src/main/java/org/logstash/Logstash.java
index 94c25d3f40..e24d9b6491 100644
--- a/logstash-core/src/main/java/org/logstash/Logstash.java
+++ b/logstash-core/src/main/java/org/logstash/Logstash.java
@@ -117,7 +117,9 @@ public static void main(final String... args) {
 
     private static void installGlobalUncaughtExceptionHandler() {
         Thread.setDefaultUncaughtExceptionHandler((thread, e) -> {
-            if (e instanceof Error) {
+            if (e instanceof org.jruby.exceptions.SystemExit) {
+                halt(1);
+            } else if (e instanceof Error) {
                 handleFatalError("uncaught error (in thread " + thread.getName() + ")",  e);
             } else {
                 LOGGER.error("uncaught exception (in thread " + thread.getName() + ")", e);