Passengers: Pilot screamed about threats from al-Qaida, bombs aboard jet
A JetBlue captain raced inside an airliner screaming obscenities and shouting about threats from al-Qaida and bombs aboard the aircraft, forcing an emergency landing Tuesday in Amarillo, passengers said.
A half-dozen to 10 passengers jumped atop the pilot and pinned him to the floor, passengers said. Flight 191 landed at Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport at 10:11 a.m., JetBlue said in a statement. The aircraft was carrying people bound from New York to Las Vegas, Nev., for a security convention, passengers said. The pilot went to a restroom, then emerged, “shouting, ‘Iraq, al-Qaida, terrorism, we’re all going down.’
It seemed like he went crazy,” said Gabriel Schonzeit, of New York City, who was seated in the third row and traveling to the security convention. JetBlue and Transportation Security Administration officials described the pilot as having a medical condition.
He was transported to Northwest Texas Hospital, officials said. He has not been identified. The crew kicked the pilot out of the cockpit, and he turned unruly, attempting to use the intercom system, which had been disabled, said Josh Redick, 41, of New York. The pilot later attempted to re-enter the cockpit, but his security code appeared to have been changed, Schonzeit said.
More at http://amarillo.com/news/latest-news/2012-03-27/jet-blue-captains-medical-condition-forces-emergency-landing
= new reply since forum marked as read
Well, I, uh, don't think it's quite fair to condemn a whole program because of a single slip-up, sir
Gen "Buck" Turgidson
Jet Blue pilot suspended following disturbance on flight
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A JetBlue pilot who caused a disturbance on board a flight to Las Vegas, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Texas, has been suspended while the FBI investigates the incident, the airline said on Wednesday.
Flight 191 from New York was diverted to Amarillo, Texas, on Tuesday following what federal authorities described as erratic behavior by the captain, who passengers said had to be restrained after he pounded on the locked cockpit door.
"He has been removed from all active duty and responsibilities pending further investigation," JetBlue spokeswoman Tamara Young said, declining to comment further on that investigation.
JetBlue, which had said on Tuesday the flight was diverted due to a "medical situation" involving the captain, identified the pilot as Clayton Osbon, a 12-year veteran of the airline.
Passengers who were on the plane described a chaotic mid-flight scene in which a man in a JetBlue uniform, apparently locked out of the cockpit, began banging on the door and demanding to be let inside. Passengers subdued him.
I hope Captain Osborn hadn't been flying non-stop for days like so many pilots are forced to do.
