JetBlue Pilot melts down - MID AIR!?!?!

[Reece]

[Actual Passenger Video] CAPTAIN OF JETBLUE FLIGHT ERRATIC BEHAVIOR EMERGENCY LANDING 3/27/2012 Click here to listen to the ATC Audio

A JetBlue flight bound for Las Vegas was diverted to Texas on Tuesday following what federal authorities described as erratic behaviour by the captain, who passengers said had to be restrained after he pounded on the locked cockpit door. The FBI is investigating the incident on Flight 191 from New York, which had 135 passengers on board when the pilot-in-command decided to redirect the plane to Amarillo, Texas. JetBlue said in a statement the flight was diverted due to a "medical situation" involving the captain but made no mention of any commotion on board. 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. "People behind me, a bunch of big guys, started going up there and trying to help, and we found out that the guy banging was actually the pilot, and he was trying to get into the cockpit because the other co-pilot had locked him out," passenger Grant Heppes told Reuters. "Everybody seemed pretty nervous," he added. "Nobody was sure what was going on. Everybody seemed very concerned." Passenger Heidi Karg told CNN that the captain, before he was wrestled to the ground, had been pounding on the door saying, "I need the code. Give me the code." Another woman on the plane said local law enforcement met passengers at the gate and interviewed them. MEDICAL SITUATION The plane, which took off from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, had been scheduled to land at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. JetBlue said that following a medical situation with the captain, another captain who was travelling off-duty entered the flight deck prior to the landing and "took over the duties of the ill crew member once on the ground." The crew member was removed from the aircraft and taken to a local medical facility. The airline brought in another aircraft and crew to take the passengers to Las Vegas, JetBlue said. The Federal Aviation Administration cited an "onboard medical emergency" as the reason for the diversion, and said preliminary information showed the co-pilot became concerned that the captain had "exhibited erratic behaviour during the flight." "The captain had exited the cockpit during the flight, after which the co-pilot locked the door," the statement said. "When the captain attempted to enter the locked cockpit, he was subdued by passengers. After the flight landed safely, local law enforcement secured the pilot without incident and he was transported by ambulance for medical evaluation."

Sources:

Reuters
Liveatc.net
Youtube.com

What are you thoughts?

[Hevar.]

HAHAHAH!! I think that guy got Demon inside her self. He must be controlled by a demon ^__^

[Jack Rosso]

I still dont see the reason of keeping the captain out of the cockpit.. weird story, hopefully this gets cleared up soon..

[Reece]

What's so weird about it?

Captain wait crazy in the cockpit, co-pilot tricked him to go outside, co-pilot changed the code, locked the door, captain goes crazy talking about bombs, tries to break down the door, passengers subdue him.

[Jack Rosso]

Captain wait crazy in the cockpit, co-pilot tricked him to go outside, co-pilot changed the code, locked the door, captain goes crazy talking about bombs, tries to break down the door, passengers subdue him.

Its weird because this kind of stuff usually won't happen during a flight.

[Ben.]

I still dont see the reason of keeping the captain out of the cockpit.. weird story, hopefully this gets cleared up soon..

Well, if the Captain of the aircraft is seen to be erratic/delirious, then it must be assumed they are incapable of flying it. By leaving him in the cockpit, they would have been endangering the lives of the 135 passengers and aircrew. They don't know what he would have done...crashed the plane, or the co-pilot are just a couple of things they would have had to consider.