A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas had to be diverted to Texas yesterday after the plane’s captain had an apparent breakdown, requiring emergency procedures to swing into action that resulted in the pilot being locked out of the cabin and restrained by passengers and crew.
According to reports, the incident began when the co-pliot noticed that Captain Clayton Osbon was “acting erratically” in the cockpit and was flipping switches unnecessarily and seemed incoherent. The co-pilot persuaded Osbon to leave the cockpit and then locked the door behind him and changed the security code. Osbon became more agitated and began running up and down the aisle before banging on the cockpit door demanding to be let back in. Crew members attempted to calm him down but he became more irate and reportedly began screaming about Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Al Queda and that the plane was “going to be taken down.” Eventually a group of passengers, led by security personnel who were on their way to a conference in Las Vegas, tackled Osbon, restrained him with seat belts and sat on him for the remainder of the flight. An off-duty pilot who had also been a passenger assisted the co-pilot to safely land the plane in Amarillo, Texas, where Osbon was taken to a local hospital for observation. None of the 131 passengers or six crew members were harmed.
Osbon, who was a 12-year veteran of JetBlue and and a flight standards captain in charge of cockpit and safety procedures was described as a “consummate professional” by company CEO Dave Barger and had no history of incidents in the past. The FAA does require medical checks every year for pilots under the age of 40 and every six months for pilots older than 40. Although there is no formal psychiatric evaluation, these assessments include mental health questions and fellow crew members are trained to be on the lookout for any signs of mental distress.
Judging by the quick-thinking actions of the co-pilot and crew, with a big assist from the passengers, the system worked:
“I’d say the system functioned properly,” said Dave Funk, a retired Northwest Airlines captain and an aviation consultant with Laird & Associates. “There’s a reason we have two pilots. There’s a reason we have flight attendants. … One healthy pilot on the flight deck who’s qualified would have no problem landing the plane.”
This was the second incident this month in which passengers had to subdue unruly airline personnel. On March 9, passengers helped restrain an American Airlines flight attendant who got on the intercom before takeoff and ranted about 9/11 and airline safety before finally being removed from the plane.