AMARILLO, Texas, March 27 (UPI) -- A JetBlue flight landed in Texas after passengers tackled a pilot who screamed obscenities and shouted threats about al-Qaida and bombs, passengers said.
Flight 191 was en route from New York to Las Vegas when the incident unfolded, forcing the 10:11 a.m. landing at Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport, the Amarillo Globe-News reported. Six to 10 passengers grabbed the pilot as he ran through the Airbus A320's cabin and pinned him to the floor, passengers said.
A passenger said the pilot came out of a restroom "shouting, 'Iraq, al-Qaida, terrorism, we're all going down.'"
"It seemed like he went crazy," said Gabriel Schonzeit of New York City, who was in the third row.
JetBlue and Transportation Security Administration officials said the pilot, whose name wasn't released, had a medical condition and was taken to a hospital, the newspaper said.
Josh Redick, 41, of New York said the crew kicked the pilot out of the cockpit and he then tried to use the intercom system, which had been disabled. The pilot attempted to re-enter the cockpit, pounding on the door when he was unable to open it.
A passenger who is a former prison security guard grabbed him by the neck and choked him until he collapsed, Schonzeit said.
"We all knew in the front rows if he got back in the cockpit, we were going down," Schonzeit said.
Another pilot, traveling off duty, entered the flight deck and helped land the plane, JetBlue's statement said.
