Passengers aboard JetBlue Flight 191 are detailing the dramatic and bizarre behavior of the plane’s captain, while the airline’s CEO called him a “consummate professional,” MSNBC is reporting. The 49-year-old pilot, Clayton Osbon, “became increasingly agitated,” passenger Tony Antolino recounted to Ann Curry on today’s episode of NBC’s ‘The Today Show.’ He added that several passengers had to grab him, tackle him to the ground and sit on him.
Osbon has since been charged with interfering with a flight crew, after leaving the cockpit and trying to enter an occupied lavatory. He became increasingly agitated when he couldn’t go back into the cockpit. Antolino also told NBC New York that Osbon also began yelling about an unspecified threat linked to Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. “They’re going to take us down…Say the Lord’s prayer,” he reportedly screamed.
Passenger Laurie Dhue told Curry that she saw Osbon running down the aisle, banging on the cockpit door, saying “Let me in!” Jetblue’s CEO, Dave Barger, also appeared on ‘Today,’ and told Matt Lauer that he knew Osbon personally. He added that there were no signs that pointed to the in-flight meltdown.
Flight 191 was scheduled to leave from New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport and head to Las Vegas. It was diverted to Amarillo, Texas, however.
Written by: Karen Benardello
