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[UPDATE] JetBlue Passengers: Unhinged Pilot Screamed About Iran, Iraq, And Group Prayer
By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 27, 2012
Modified Mar 28, 2012
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By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 27, 2012
Modified Mar 28, 2012
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[Update below from another passenger who was in the eighth row.] Grant F. Heppes
, a Brooklyn-based marketing director, was seated about halfway back during this morning's crazy JetBlue flight from JFK to Las Vegas. About halfway through the flight, he started to hear a commotion. Heppes tells us, "I saw a JetBlue employee walk from the front of the cabin to the back, and then from back to front. Later I found out that was the pilot who was freaking out. Once he was up front I heard him banging on cockpit door, screaming, 'Let me in!' "
Heppes says other passengers who were closer to the front heard the Captain scream: "Iran! Iraq! Pray to God with me!" With the Captain pounding on the cockpit door, the co-pilot came on the p.a. system and instructed the flight crew to subdue the Captain and to make sure he did not get back into the cockpit. "It was utter confusion," says Heppes. "A bunch of guys ran up to the front" and subdued the captain. (ABC reports that an off-duty NYC cop was among those who subdued the Captain.) "Everyone was in shock," Heppes tells us. "Employees asked us to clear the aisles and told us the Captain had a panic attack. We quickly landed in Amarillo."
Over six hours later, Heppes says he's still stuck in Amarillo while they wait for another plane to be made available. JetBlue hasn't said anything about reimbursing the passengers for the harrowing inconvenience, but Heppes tells us they have been given a pretty decent free lunch: "Ham sandwiches, pizza, chicken sandwiches, things of that nature." We're guessing that pretty much makes up for everything!
Update 4:40 p.m.: A Connecticut woman named Heidi Karg was in the eighth row, and she tells us she realized something was seriously awry when a man in a JetBlue uniform started banging on the cockpit and bathroom doors yelling, "I NEED THE CODE! I NEED THE CODE!" At this time, she heard someone come over the p.a. system ordering the flight crew to "subdue" the man—only later did she find out it was the Captain!
"Everyone heard the word 'bomb,' " says Karg, adding that it all happened so quickly she didn't have a chance to feel scared—but the crew seemed more panicked than the passengers. "The crew may have had a clue that he was acting erratically prior to incident. Two men at the front and more men from the back of the cabin immediately stormed up and got him down on the floor."
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jetblue
jfk airport
meltdowns
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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