(CBS News) A police officer and an off-duty airline pilot subdued a JetBlue captain Tuesday morning aboard a Las Vegas-bound flight when the captain started pounding on the cockpit door after the flight's co-pilot asked him to leave and subsequently locked him out, a federal official told CBS News.
The captain became incoherent during JetBlue Flight 191 from New York's John F. Kennedy International, prompting the co-pilot to get him to leave the cockpit, the official said. JetBlue said in a statement to CBS News that the flight was diverted to Amarillo, Texas, "for a medical situation involving the captain."
NY Post: An Amarillo TV station quoted a passenger as saying the pilot “began running up and down the aisles screaming.”
The pilot banged on the cockpit door but was not allowed to get back in, the passenger said.
The pilot's actions prompted a panicked flight attendant to get on the intercom and urge passengers to restrain him.
Several passengers proceeded to tackle the pilot to the floor and hold him down until the plane landed, according to the station.
