US airlines captain gives mid-air scare to passengers

Passengers in an American airliner had to wrestle an off-duty pilot to the floor when he started running around the packed jet shouting -- "We're all going down - say your prayers".  

The Las Vegas-bound 135-passenger Airbus A320 plane of JetBlue Airways was diverted and forced into an emergency landing in Texas city.

The CEO of JetBlue Airways said Wednesday he has known the captain of the flight that made an emergency landing Tuesday for "a long time" -- and that the man has always been a "consummate professional", the CNN reported.

According to the Sun, Captain Clayton Osborn had been locked out of the cockpit by a co-pilot concerned about his erratic behaviour when he left to use the bathroom.

After his outburst, a flight attendant appealed for help. Passengers leapt out of their seats and grabbed the captain before pinning him to the floor for 15 minutes. Before being restrained, Osborn shouted about "bombs" and "Al-Qaeda", the British daily reported.

Airline JetBlue later described the incident as a "medical situation involving the captain".
The pilot was removed and taken to a medical facility, it said.  "We're still investigating," said Lydia Maese, an FBI spokeswoman.