I suspect that the Captain in his irrational state of mind would have been unable to remember the emergency entry code.

That doesn't relieve you of your responsibility to not talk about this.

Terrible
 

I think and it sounds like an anemic hypoxia event, we'll find out later as the investigation goes on :bored:

beardy:

No, the program has not been terminated and he would have to have been qualified as a flight deck officer. I doubt he was, but if so, his firearm would not have been on his person when he went to the cabin,

My JBlew buds say he was #3 on the seniority list and a CKA. By the time the NTSB (they're already in on the investigation)...gets through with this one...there are going to be a lot of airline pilots taking an annual psyche exam.

This is a very bad day for airline pilots.

Good job...uh...FO...uh..for watching your CA's back...

Hey
 

Let's remember the passengers subdued and quieted him on a request over the Ic from flight attendants, there was nothing screwey going on and it ended well, no casualties, no loss of life, no deviation of flight plan it's just a simple result of a captain who became irrational and a 2nd officer who made the right decision, and a ferrying captain was onboard, unfortunate but I don't see how it is such a big deal.

You guys are assuming way too much. It could be something like a brain tumour which is Physical Health, not Mental Health.

Remove the tumour and he could be Good To Go.

Well
 

My guess was hypoxic anemia, he's in too good of health and has too good a record for a psyche problem.

Oh shit
 

It might be a Gremlin !!

Kudos to the first officer who recognised the unstable mental state of the skipper and tricked him into leaving the cockpit! Great presence of mind and overall a great command candidate.

I once heard a (possibly apocryphal) story on some small carrier a long time ago wherein the captain began acting irrationally, slipping in and out of lucidity, and generally acting an ass. After the FO got the plane on the ground, the captain was rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with viral encephalitis. Could be any number of things besides generic craziness.

Yep, some really quick thinking on the FO's part. Of course, almost all pilots working at JetBlue were Captains at their last airline.

Did you miss the part where the man was violent and irrational? "Watching your Captain's back" is no longer an option when he becomes a threat to the safe completion of the flight. If the NTSB comes up with a brand new hoop for us to jump through every year, blaming the FO is about the most ass-backwards thing you could do.

What, please, is hypoxic anemia?? No such thing.

I've worked at three airlines.

At two of them, pilots have acted irrationally in the cockpit and have been removed from flight status for psych issues.

It's tragic when it happens, but pilots are just as vulnerable to mental illness as anyone else....

@grimmrad
I assume the intended reference is to hypoxemia, but what's meant is probably hypoxia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypoxia_(medical))
Possible I suppose, but so are many other things. We've already managed to give out information about cabin security and probably enough personal information for someone to identify the individual concerned, so maybe it would be best not to speculate further until the facts are known.

So the captain banged on the flight deck door demanding reentry and the copilot said "I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that".

I assume there will be a very, very careful analysis of the captain's blood chemistry, along with his water, food and beverages. Although his choice of words leads us down other routes, a senior man's sudden departure from a well-balanced state might well have reasons other than natural causes.

Clearly, I'm suggesting that all crews have a vulnerability to being intentionally incapacitated with drugs - perhaps even sophisticated and difficult to detect chemistry used in research.

I would also test for connections with other cases where data and samples are still available. Nothing is confined to the logic of fiction these days.

Course you're all well aware of the possibility that there could
be a knee-jerk reaction from the FAA, and everyone will have
to do a official shrink test at some clinic as part of the licence
medical renewal procedures.

This could lead to the ICAO level - which may cause us all in
the end having to do the same, with the obvious implications.

I'm curious - who is the PIC when an off-duty captain goes up to assist in a situation like this?

Just a couple of weeks ago a US flight attendant was being irrational, shouting about the same thing as this guy "we are all going to crash" and stuff. She was also overmanned and carried to the hospital.

Pablo - The Second in command (ie the FO). The off duty captain is there for assistance but legally the FO is responsible.