Flight Attendant Freaks Out Passengers, Is Detained

[donnay]

Flight Attendant Freaks Out Passengers, Is Detained

She apparently got on PA system, ranted about crashing
By John Johnson, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 9, 2012 1:12 PM CST

(Newser) (http://www.newser.com/story/141465/flight-attendant-freaks-out-passengers-is-detained.html) – Details are still sketchy, but something seriously weird and unpleasant happened aboard an American Airlines flight set to take off from Dallas to Chicago today. Early accounts suggest that one of the flight attendants got on the PA system and began ranting about how the plane was going to crash and about the company's financial troubles, report the Chicago Tribune (http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-american-airlines-flight-attendant-disrupts-flight-en-route-to-chicago-20120309,0,5929234.story) and Dallas Morning News (http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2012/03/flight-attendant-reportedly-ca.html).

At that point, several passengers apparently subdued her. Two other flight attendants suffered injuries in the melee, and the plane returned to the gate. The airline has confirmed that an "incident occurred involving some of the cabin crew" and said it is still investigating, as is the FAA. The Dallas newspaper quotes an email from a passenger to a friend: "The flight attendant went crazy, screaming abut 9-11 and crashing. Six men held her down."

[libertyjam]

Saw that in the DO today, updates followed, plane went back to the gate, a new crew of attendants was boarded and the plane went on to Chicago without further incident. Will be likely featured on Good Morning America as one of the flight attendants landed to be greeted by reporters and a phone message from GMA upon deplaning.
Someone said, the FA was 'off her meds'.

[donnay]

Saw that in the DO today, updates followed, plane went back to the gate, a new crew of attendants was boarded and the plane went on to Chicago without further incident. Will be likely featured on Good Morning America as one of the flight attendants landed to be greeted by reporters and a phone message from GMA upon deplaning.
Someone said, the FA was 'off her meds'.

It appears the flight attendant was Bi-polar, or at least that is what I am getting from the reports. Now there are talking heads are talking about why there is no mental screening for flight crews? :rolleyes:

The last statistic coming from the CDC between 2005 - 2008:

Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 2005–2008

Eleven percent of Americans aged 12 years and over take antidepressant medication.
Females are more likely to take antidepressants than are males, and non-Hispanic white persons are more likely to take antidepressants than are non-Hispanic black and Mexican-American persons.
About one-third of persons with severe depressive symptoms take antidepressant medication.
More than 60% of Americans taking antidepressant medication have taken it for 2 years or longer, with 14% having taken the medication for 10 years or more.
Less than one-third of Americans taking one antidepressant medication and less than one-half of those taking multiple antidepressants have seen a mental health professional in the past year.

Antidepressants were the third most common prescription drug taken by Americans of all ages in 2005–2008 and the most frequently used by persons aged 18–44 years (1). From 1988–1994 through 2005–2008, the rate of antidepressant use in the United States among all ages increased nearly 400% (1).

This data brief discusses all antidepressants taken, regardless of the reason for use. While the majority of antidepressants are taken to treat depression, antidepressants also can be taken to treat anxiety disorders, for example. The report describes antidepressant use among Americans aged 12 and over, including prevalence of use by age, sex, race and ethnicity, income, depression severity, and length of use.

Keywords: prescription medication, depression, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, mental health


About one in 10 Americans aged 12 and over takes antidepressant medication.

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db76_fig1.gif

1 Significantly different from age group 18–39.
2 Significantly different from age groups 40–59 and 60 and over.
3 Significantly different from females.
4 Significantly different from age group 60 and over.
NOTE: Access data table for Figure 1 Adobe PDF file [PDF - 12 KB]
SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 2005–2008.



Overall, females are 2½ times as likely to take antidepressant medication as males. However, there is no difference by sex in rates of antidepressant use among persons aged 12–17 (Figure 1).
Twenty-three percent of women aged 40–59 take antidepressants, more than in any other age-sex group.
Among both males and females, those aged 40 and over are more likely to take antidepressants than those in younger age groups.

Continued... (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db76.htm)

[libertyjam]

Well that means 11% of 'mericans that can now be stripped of certain rights don't ya know, got to get as many in that mentally unstable group as possible, so they can all be on that BATF list don'tchaknow? Soon we can list every one who isn't part of an alphabet agency, 'cept those LE types, cause being a psychopath is actually job requirement dontchaknow?

[donnay]

The patients are running the asylum!

[libertyjam]

It's the King of Hearts!

http://www.videosurf.com/video/king-of-hearts-1324814062


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYSXbB1IM6A

[ronpaulhemp]

I saw this on the news today. I wonder what set the attendant off?

[libertyjam]

I saw this on the news today. I wonder what set the attendant off?

MK-Ultra trigger...

[donnay]

MK-Ultra trigger...

You know that was my first thought! She kept on screaming, "Everyone get off the plane!! This plane is going to crash! American Airlines is going bankrupt!"

[S.Shorland]

23% of women in my age band on anti-depressants? That must be some crack being papered over.Nothing to do with not being able to save or having unemployed husbands of course.

[donnay]

Okay...now we have a pilot of JetBlue who freaked out. What's going on?

JetBlue flight diverts following captain's erratic behavior

By NBCNewYork.com

A JetBlue flight from John F. Kennedy Airport to Las Vegas was diverted after the pilot began behaving erratically, pounding on the door of the cockpit and yelling about threats from Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan, authorities and passengers said.

Flight 191 left New York City at about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday with 135 passengers on board, and at about 10 a.m. the plane was diverted to Amarillo, Texas.

Continued... (http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/27/10888941-jetblue-flight-diverts-following-captains-erratic-behavior)

[tod evans]

Better living through modern chemistry?...........NOT!

These pharmaceuticals scare me more than "illegal" drugs.

[tod evans]

double post

[donnay]

Better living through modern chemistry?...........NOT!

These pharmaceuticals scare me more than "illegal" drugs.

As well as you should be. Do you really want to get on a plane, bus, ship or train where the pilot, driver, captain or conductor are on mind altering prescription drugs?

[tod evans]

As well as you should be. Do you really want to get on a plane, bus, ship or train where the pilot, driver, captain or conductor are on mind altering prescription drugs?

The beauty of privacy act legislation is that no one can even find out if the person they work beside is on this stuff let alone the stranger driving public transport or flying a plane.

More legislation ripe for repeal!

[donnay]

This may be related to where this agenda may go...

Obama set to clash with House GOP over program for training armed airline pilots
By Alexander Bolton - 03/25/12 06:00 AM ET

President Obama and House Republicans are set to clash over the administration’s proposal to slash money for training pilots on how to handle firearms in the cockpit.

Obama’s budget proposed a 52-percent cut in the federal flight deck officer program, which certifies pilots to carry handguns while flying commercial planes.

Congress authorized the program after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and its backers argue it is a cost-effective way to defend against future hijackings.

The administration, however, wants to focus resources on “risk-based operational initiatives”, such as the Federal Air Marshall Service, which can be deployed to defend against specific threats.

Freshman Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-Minn.), a former pilot for Northwest Airlines, and a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, is ready to battle Obama over the cuts.

Cravaack sent a letter to the Appropriations Committee Thursday calling on Congress to double funding for the armed pilots training program to $50.5 million.

“The Federal Flight Desk Officer program serves as the last line of defense in the event of a terrorist attack on the cockpit of an airplane,” Cravaack wrote. “By training and arming pilots, qualified participants are able to defend the cockpit from attack in the event that the reinforced cockpit door fails.

“This program has consistently proven one of the most cost effective means of securing air transportation against terrorist attacks,” he wrote.

Cravaack has called for cuts to the Transportation Security Administration’s screening accounts to pay for expanding the armed pilots program.

Pilots who support the program say Obama’s proposed cuts would undermine it severely.

They fear reduced federal funding will force re-certification centers around the country to shut down, making it inconvenient for pilots to re-qualify.

To gain certification to carry a gun onboard, pilots must take a six-day training program in Artesia, New Mexico. They must attend a half-day requalification session at various locations around the country to maintain it.

“If they reduce dramatically the number of requalification sites with a 50-percent budget cut, that’s a problem,” said Tracy Price, a commercial airline pilot. “Pilots can now drive to requalification locations but if they have to take a day off and fly and spend a night in a hotel, it’s an inconvenience.”

Price said pilots have to pay for travel, food and lodging out of their own pockets when they attend the training sessions.

“There’s a limit to what they’re willing to do and the amount of money they’re willing to spend,” he said.

Price argues the pilots program is a better use of taxpayers’ dollars than air marshals.

The cost of training pilots breaks down to $15 dollars per flight while the cost of deploying air marshals costs as much as $3,300 per flight.

Brian Darling, senior fellow for government studies at The Heritage Foundation, has helped mobilize opposition to the president’s budget proposal.

“It would be devastating,” Darling said of the proposed budget cut. “It shows the Obama administration’s intent to kill the armed pilot program. The fact that they’ve cut the budget in half is evidence they want to end this program in the next few years and want to start winding it down now.”

An administration official cited a budget statement justifying the decision.

“Funds will be redirected from this voluntary program to other high-priority, risk-based operational initiatives. Since 2001, many enhancements to aviation security have been made, such as 100-percent screening of all passengers and their carry-on items, the installation of reinforced and locking cockpit doors on aircraft that operate in U.S. airspace, and increased passenger and flight crew awareness to address security risks,” the budget justification states.

The administration argues these changes have lowered the risk of cockpit invasion.

But pilots who support the program contend that layers of airport security are not foolproof, noting a box cutter — the type of weapon terrorists used during the 9/11 attacks — was discovered aboard a Southwest Airlines flight in Houston earlier this year.

“I was shocked at first because this is the most cost-efficient security measure to date. You’re going to cut something that’s cost efficient and that works in favor of something that’s bloated and doesn’t work?” said Marcus Flagg, a pilot for UPS and president of the Federal Flight Deck Officers Association, of his reaction to hearing about the administration’s proposal.

“We offer five-times the coverage of air marshals,” he said.

Flagg believes armed pilots are an effective deterrent against hijacking and has doubts about the Transportation Security Administration’s screening systems.

His parents died on American Airlines flight number 77, which was commandeered by terrorists and crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11.

http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/homeland-and-coast-guard/217953-obama-set-to-clash-with-house-gop-over-program-training-armed-airline-pilots-

[Danke]

The beauty of privacy act legislation is that no one can even find out if the person they work beside is on this stuff let alone the stranger driving public transport or flying a plane.

More legislation ripe for repeal!

Not true. You will not be flying a commercial airline "on this stuff."

[Danke]

The cost of training pilots breaks down to $15 dollars per flight while the cost of deploying air marshals costs as much as $3,300 per flight.


And most planes don't have second barriers for the cockpit. A relatively inexpensive way to prevent any unauthorized person from entering the cockpit.

[donnay]

Not true. You will not be flying a commercial airline "on this stuff."

Pilots are allowed to be prescribed psychotropic drugs (mind altering drugs) and fly--most transportation people are allowed to be on psychotropic drugs.

[Danke]

Pilots are allowed to be prescribed psychotropic drugs (mind altering drugs) and fly--most transportation people are allowed to be on psychotropic drugs.

That is just recently and very limited.

[tod evans]

Not true. You will not be flying a commercial airline "on this stuff."

Best of my understanding it's the SSRI drugs that cause folks to go off their rocker.

And....No employer including the federal government is permitted under law to even ask if you're taking these things.

Pain meds and common barbiturates will show in a tox-screen but unless specifically requested these "new-breed" of psychotropics aren't even tested for.

The FAA said in 2010;

http://sleeplessandtired.com/?p=777

[Danke]

Best of my understanding it's the SSRI drugs that cause folks to go off their rocker.

And....No employer including the federal government is permitted under law to even ask if you're taking these things.

Pain meds and common barbiturates will show in a tox-screen but unless specifically requested these "new-breed" of psychotropics aren't even tested for.

The FAA said in 2010;

http://sleeplessandtired.com/?p=777

Again, it is very limited in application and a lot of monitoring is involved.

[Anti Federalist]

Again, it is very limited in application and a lot of monitoring is involved.

Not for crazy seamen it isn't.

I've been ranting about this for years now, you can conn a vessel on handfuls of these things, but, god forbid you smoke a joint on your time off.

[CaptainAmerica]

staged.

[donnay]

This must be the month that people go wacko on planes! :eek:

Passenger attacks US Airways flight crew

CHARLOTTE, N.C. --

A passenger on US Airways flight 1697 from Charlotte to Ft. Myers, Fla., had to be restrained and put in hand ties after attacking the flight crew, according to police and airline officials.

NBC-17 reporter Jonathan Carlson witnessed the aftermath in the Ft. Myers terminal, and spoke exclusively with members of the flight crew onboard flight 1697.

They say the woman got out of her seat and attacked the crew, kicking them, spitting in their faces and knocking one flight attendant to the ground.

Carlson observed one female flight attendant with bruises and bandages up her arms in addition to scratch marks.

The flight, which originated in Newark and stopped in Charlotte, arrived in Ft. Myers shortly after 6 p.m. and was greeted by police and EMS.

The woman was taken out of the airport by police once the plane arrived. She was observed by medics in the terminal before being taken away. During that time she was screaming and crying.

The flight crew said a Lee County Florida sheriff's deputy happened to be on board and helped tackle the woman. Flight attendants say the woman complained of being scared of flying shortly before she became violent.

Passengers on board flight 1697 were shaken, one saying the woman was restrained against a wall before being tied. Others praised the flight crew on how they handled the situation.

The same flight crew on flight 1697 flew the return flight to Charlotte later Tuesday night. That flight arrived safely around 9:30.

As a result of the incident, Peggy Albedhady-Sanchez, of Union City N.J., was charged with Interfering with an Aircraft, and Battery.

Police say once the plane landed, they found the woman restrained in the back of the plane, still combative.

Three members of the flight crew told police they were the victims of her assault. They say she became irate after they refused to serve her alcohol.

In addition to the female flight attendant assaulted, the other two were slapped in the jaw and kicked in the groin according to the police report.

The woman also broke an arm rest on the plane during the incident.

According to The Jersey Journal, the woman's hometown newspaper, the woman's family claims a combination of medication and alcohol may have been to blame for the outburst. They say she was distraught over the loss of a loved one.

Sanchez remained in jail, and could face federal charges as well.

http://www2.nbc17.com/news/2012/mar/27/14/woman-restrained-flight-north-carolina-ar-2095407/

[donnay]

JetBlue co-pilot tells of pilot's cockpit rant
The first officer says the pilot muttered, 'Things just don't matter,' and yelled at air traffic controllers to be quiet. He is charged with interfering with a flight crew after the ensuing melee.

By Tina Susman (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-jet-blue-pilot-20120329,0,2929676.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fnews%2Fnationworld% 2Fnation+%28L.A.+Times+-+National+News%29), Los Angeles Times

March 29, 2012
NEW YORK — Minutes after a JetBlue flight took off from New York for Las Vegas, the pilot began muttering things that didn't make sense to his co-pilot. He started talking about the need to "focus," lamented that "things just don't matter," and yelled at air traffic controllers to keep quiet.

At some point, Capt. Clayton Osbon purportedly told his first officer that "we're not going to Las Vegas" and launched into a sermon. That set off a chain of events that culminated in a federal charge of interfering with a flight crew being filed against Osbon on Wednesday, a day after he was tackled by passengers at 35,000 feet and later carried off to a hospital.

The Justice Department detailed the allegations against Osbon, 49, in a complaint that indicated Tuesday's Flight 191 went awry quickly. According to the document, based on an investigator's interviews with the co-pilot and other crew members, Osbon showed up for the morning flight later than usual and missed the usual preflight crew briefing. But Osbon "initially did not exhibit any bizarre behavior," the complaint said.

That changed quickly, as the jet was climbing out of John F. Kennedy International Airport. According to the first officer, who was not named, Osbon began speaking incoherently and became increasingly agitated as the flight went on.

After yelling at air traffic controllers, he turned off the radios in the Airbus 320, which had more than 130 people on board, and "sternly admonished the FO [first officer] for trying to talk on the radio."

"The FO became really worried when Osbon said, 'We need to take a leap of faith,' " investigators said.

Initial reports after the jet made an emergency landing in Amarillo, Texas, said the co-pilot had tricked Osbon into leaving the cockpit by suggesting he use the bathroom. The complaint says Osbon bolted out of the cockpit on his own and headed for the bathroom, alarming crew members. This was about 3 1/2 hours into the five-hour flight.

In the ensuing melee, Osbon reportedly "aggressively grabbed" a flight attendant's hands; banged on the bathroom door and yelled at a woman inside to get out; yelled at passengers; and pounded so hard on the locked cockpit door that the first officer feared Osbon was breaking through the bulletproof barrier.

By this time, flight attendants had alerted passengers that they might need assistance restraining Osbon, and several of the people on board joined them in pinning him to the ground and holding him there for at least 20 minutes while the flight landed in Texas. The FBI, which is leading the investigation, said Osbon remained hospitalized in Amarillo on Wednesday.

According to the U.S. attorney's office in the northern district of Texas, a charge of interfering with a flight crew carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Kathy Colvin, a Dallas-based spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office, said no date had been set for a court appearance.

The complaint came hours after JetBlue announced that Osbon, a 12-year veteran of the airline, had been suspended and as passengers who had been on the flight described their shock at the strange event, which many captured on video and posted on YouTube.

"It was surreal. It was like a movie. It really was," said one passenger, Charlie Restivo.

Those who know Osbon, who lives in Georgia but rents an apartment in the New York City borough of Queens to use before and after flights, said they were stunned. His landlord, Wanda Serra, broke down in tears when told of Osbon's rant. "I feel like he's a son," she told ABC, describing him as a "beautiful man."

Others in the neighborhood who know Osbon agreed, saying he appeared to be a contented family man.

"Things happen, but I would never have expected it from a guy like that. Something got to him," said John Morganti.

It was the second incident this month involving an in-flight meltdown by an airline employee. On March 9, an American Airlines jet returned to the gate in Dallas after an attendant let out a bloodcurdling scream and began ranting about a crash as the plane prepared to take off.

In 2010, JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater gained folk-hero status after he cussed out a passenger while the plane was on a runway in New York, then grabbed a beer, deployed an emergency chute, and slid down it. He was arrested and charged with criminal mischief and reckless endangerment. Slater, who left JetBlue, later apologized, blaming his rant on stress, and paid restitution after pleading guilty to lesser charges.

tina.susman@latimes.com

[seapilot]

That pilot going off the deep end does not add up. He might have been drugged before getting on the flight? An above post suggested it could have something to do with limiting pilots being armed in the cockpit by Obama administration. This incident sure gives those that oppose that program an argument.

The bigger tin foil hat theory is that some companies and TPTB want airliners to go full automation without the need for pilots at the controls in the airplane. The military is already using pilot-less aircraft, boats, tanks etc. The technology is already there, but people still want the comfort of knowing a live person is in front at the controls. Shake up the public confidence in the pilots flying the planes and in 20 years the only people allowed in the front of the cockpit are the mechanics when its on the ground.

[Danke]

The bigger tin foil hat theory is that some companies and TPTB want airliners to go full automation without the need for pilots at the controls in the airplane. The military is already using pilot-less aircraft, boats, tanks etc. The technology is already there, but people still want the comfort of knowing a live person is in front at the controls. Shake up the public confidence in the pilots flying the planes and in 20 years the only people allowed in the front of the cockpit are the mechanics when its on the ground.

Well, not really "pilot-less" Just the pilots are ground based.

[donnay]

Update on JetBlue pilot:

JetBlue Pilot who Had Midair Meltdown to Plead Insanity-Filing

Ioanna Makris (http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/18/jetblue-pilot-idUSL2E8FIE8A20120418)
Reuters
Wed, 18 Apr 2012 03:06 CDT

http://www.sott.net/image/image/s4/98847/medium/03_1N006_jetblue1_300x300.jpg
© The Associated Press
Police yesterday escort JetBlue captain Clayton Osbon (right) from an Amarillo, Texas, hospital to court, where he faced charges of interfering with a flight crew over his midair meltdown.

US - A JetBlue pilot whose midair meltdown prompted a cross-country flight to make an emergency landing in west Texas last month will plead he was insane at the time of the incident, his lawyer said in a federal court filing on Wednesday.

Attorney Dean Roper filed the notice in U.S. District Court in Amarillo, Texas, saying pilot Clayton Osbon would use an insanity defense.

Osbon, 49, was charged earlier this month with interfering in the operations of a flight crew after he allegedly screamed and pounded on the cockpit door, forcing a March 27 flight from New York to Las Vegas to land in Amarillo.

Osbon was undergoing court-ordered psychiatric examination to determine if he could stand trial. The outcome of those examinations has not been disclosed.

A federal indictment described a harrowing flight during which Osbon had to be subdued and forcibly restrained from re-entering the cockpit.

The FBI said Osbon began saying, "Things just don't matter" while he was at the controls of the Airbus A320 about halfway into the five-hour flight, and that he told the flight's first officer, "We're not going to Vegas."

After the pilot suddenly left the cockpit and started running up and down the aisle, banging on a restroom door, and attempted to force his way back into the locked cockpit, several passengers restrained him until the plane landed.

The FBI said that while he was being restrained, Osbon yelled, "Pray now for Jesus Christ," started yelling about Iraq, Iran and terrorists, and shouted at one point toward the cockpit, "Guys, push it to full throttle!"

Neither Osbon's lawyer nor prosecutors could immediately be reached for comment on the insanity defense.

Also reported: http://www.sott.net/articles/show/244276-JetBlue-Pilot-who-Had-Midair-Meltdown-to-Plead-Insanity-Filing