JetBlue Pilot Subdued by Passengers Faces Federal Charges: 'Interfering with Crew'

A JetBlue Airways pilot who ran through the cabin of a New York-to-Las Vegas flight shouting about terrorists, Jesus, and Sept. 11 was charged Wednesday by federal authorities with interfering with a flight crew.

Capt. Clayton Osbon was screaming "They're going to take us down!" when passengers tackled him to the floor of the plane just outside the cockpit, the Associated Press reported.

Osbon was lead pilot on JetBlue Airways Flight 191 from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on Tuesday.

Passenger Anthony Antolino of Rye, N.Y., helped restrain Osbon during the height of the episode, and he spoke to Rye Patch on Wednesday.

"I was sitting in Row 10 and first noticed that things were awry when one of the captains came out of the cockpit in somewhat of an unexpected manner, without the normal protocol of the cabin crew," Antolino said. "When he came out he was very erratic. He was very, very agitated...moving rapidly around ..."

Antolino said he and three other passengers acted to restrain the pilot when it became clear something was very wrong.

"What was really the tipping point...was the fact that there was an off-duty pilot about three rows behind me and he and one of the flight attendants had apparently said something [about getting the situation under control]."

At one point during the epsiode, Antolino said Osbon went into a lavatory and the off-duty pilot was able to get into the cockpit and secure the area.

"That's really when things went from bad to worse," Antolino said. The pilot, barred from entering the cockpit, tried continually to open the door by entering his keypad code. Those in the cockpit managed to change the entry code and prevent Osbon from opening the door.

The co-pilot took over the plane and landed in Amarillo, Texas, where Osbon was taken to a hospital after suffering a "medical situation," JetBlue Airways said in a statement.

"The (first officer) became really worried when Osbon said 'we need to take a leap of faith,'" according to an FBI agent's sworn affidavit unsealed Wednesday. "Osbon started trying to correlate completely unrelated numbers like different radio frequencies, and he talked about sins in Las Vegas."

Osbon, a 12-year veteran at JetBlue, has been suspended by the airline and he was undergoing medical care. If convicted of interfering with a flight crew, he could face up to 20 years' imprisonment and up to $250,000 in fines, the AP reported.

"They're going to take us down. They're taking us down. They're going to take us down. Say the Lord's prayer. Say the Lord's prayer," Osborn screamed, Antolino was quoted by the Associated Press.

As Antolino and others restrained Osbon, one female flight attendant's ribs were bruised during the struggle. No one on board was seriously hurt.

Antolino is chief marketing executive for EyeLock Corporation which develops iris recognition technology, was travelling alone on the flight. He told Rye Patch all passengers on the flight were offered a refund and an equal value round-trip ticket for future travel.

The charges against Osbon, 49, were filed in Texas. He was being held Wednesday at Northwest Texas Healthcare System in Amarillo and remains under a medical evaluation.

JetBlue Airways was founded in 1999 and its main hub is Kennedy International in New York, according to PlaneSpotters.net. The low-fare carrier was one of the few U.S. airlines that made a profit during the sharp downturn in air travel following the September 11, 2001, attacks, The New York Times reported.

The airline offers service in and out of several Southern California airports, including Long Beach, Los Angeles and San Diego.