JetBlue Captain's Behavior Forces Plane Landing - East Idaho News
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JetBlue Captain’s Behavior Forces Plane Landing

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Getty B 051711 JetBlue?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1332871250671Scott Olson/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — A JetBlue pilot acting erratically was allegedly locked out of the cockpit by his co-pilot, causing an airplane traveling from New York to Las Vegas to be diverted to Texas.

A passenger sitting close to the front of the plane told ABC News that the co-pilot walked out of the cockpit and went to the bathroom before the incident happened.

“The guy was in the bathroom for a while and the pilot inside the cockpit locked the flight door,” the passenger said. “Passengers noticed the guy acting weird when he came out of the bathroom.”

The unruly pilot then went to the cockpit and started pounding on the door. The passenger heard someone yelling “bomb” and “we’re going down.” The passenger believes it was the pilot who had been locked out.

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A co-pilot remained in the cockpit and was flying the plane, designated as Flight 191, which was carrying 135 passengers and six crew members.

The passenger said it was a “crazy scene” that ended when a group of male passengers restrained the disorderly pilot at the front of the plane until it was able to land.

A government source told ABC News that the pilot was subdued by an off-duty New York City police officer and an off-duty JetBlue pilot who were traveling on the flight.

The off-duty pilot flight helped land the plane in Texas.

“At roughly 10 a.m. CT/11 a.m. ET, the pilot in command elected to divert to Amarillo, Texas, for a medical situation involving the captain,” JetBlue said in a statement.

“Another captain, traveling off duty, entered the flight deck prior to landing at Amarillo, and took over the duties of the ill crewmember once on the ground,” the statement said. “The aircraft arrived Amarillo at 10:11 am CT, and the crewmember was removed from the aircraft and taken to a local medical facility.”

The captain is now in FBI custody.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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