Captain Subdued On JetBlue Flight

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A JetBlue Airbus captain who reportedly behaved irrationally on a flight from JFK to Las Vegas on Tuesday is being treated for a “medical situation” in an Amarillo, Texas, hospital after being subdued by some eminently qualified passengers on the flight. The pilot, who has been identified as 49-year-old Clayton Osbon, reportedly became agitated when he was unable to unlock the cockpit door after a trip to the lavatory. It’s not clear whether he was actually ejected from the cockpit and locked out by his first officer, as some reports suggest. After trying twice to get back onto the flight deck, passengers said he began ranting about al Qaida, Iraq and Iran and advising the passengers “to say your prayers” and that “we’re going down.” By then a flight attendant was on the microphone asking for help to subdue the aircraft commander and there was no shortage of volunteers. Many of those on board were on their way to the International Security Conference in Vegas. Former prison guard David Gonzales wasted little time bringing the situation under control.

Gonzales told ABC News he put Osbon in a choke hold and held him until he was unconscious. “I just wanted to get him calm, get the plane down and get him some medical assistance,” Gonzales is reported as saying. In a YouTube interview with amarillo.com, passenger Gabriel Schonzeit said he was among about six passengers who sat on Osbon to restrain him while the other pilot diverted to Amarillo.

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