[Mrluvaluva]

A JetBlue flight captain had to be tackled by his own passengers after he ran up and down a packed jet screaming about "bombs"and "al Qaeda" in a terrifying mid-air outburst.

The plane, en route from New York's JFK airport to Las Vegas, was forced into an emergency landing in Amarillo, Texas, as the ranting pilot was pinned down.

Alarmed passengers became aware of the incident when the co-pilot, seemingly worried by his colleague's erratic behavior, locked him out of his own cockpit when he left to use the bathroom.

The captain - identified by FOX News Channel as Milwaukee native Clayton Osbon - responded by banging angrily on the flight deck door, before running up and down the aisle screaming, "Say your prayers!" according to the New York Post.



His outburst prompted a panicked plea for help from a flight attendant.
Several passengers jumped out of their seats, choking and dragging Osbon to the floor and holding him down for about 15 minutes until the plane landed safely, thanks in part to an off-duty captain who happened to be on board.

Passenger David Gonzalez told FOX News Channel how Osbon ranted incoherently about Iran then headed towards an emergency exit.

Mr Gonzalez responded by making a grab for the captain and managed to choke him until he collapsed.

"I told him I'm gonna show you what Iran is like and I grabbed him and choked him," said Mr Gonzalez.

"I was able to choke him with my forearm. At that time I let go of his throat and tackled him to the floor."

"We were afraid he'd wake up," added Mr Gonzalez, who was headed to a security conference in Las Vegas.

"The pilot was a very large man, bigger than me," 6ft 3in (190cm) New Yorker Gabriel Schonzeit, who was seated at the front of the plane, close to the struggle, told the Amarillo Globe-News.

Laurie Dhue, a former FOX News Channel anchor who was on board, told the network passengers could hear the pilot using the words "Afghanistan" and "Israel" during the tirade.

"Our pilot went nuts and we had to land in Amarillo. I saw my life flash before my eyes today.," passenger Tiffany Lee tweeted.

Grainy YouTube footage taken by one passenger after the plane landed showed a scrum at the front of the aircraft.

In the footage an attendant reminds people to stay seated and scolds them for taking video, saying, "We don't need pictures of this, please."


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