Passenger Who Rushed Cockpit Making Jihad References Tackled By Men From Denver
DENVER (CBS4) - A Colorado woman who was on a flight bound for Denver on Monday night that had to turn around when a passenger became unruly says she was only a few inches away from the chaos.
Donna Tellam of Boulder was on United Airlines flight 1074 that had just left from Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C. when another passenger began running towards the cockpit screaming obscenities.
"He was flailing his arms and the two gentlemen behind me jumped up and started fighting with him and so I stepped back because I thought I might get caught in the crossfire. And then they threw him down on the ground face first," she said.
Passengers were able to restrain the man before he was able to get any closer to the cockpit, although the man kept fighting.
"At first it was complete panic, like, 'I have no idea what's going on.' And I grabbed the guy next to me as though I know him. And he kind of pulled me back so I wouldn't get hit by what was going on," Tellam told CBS4 at Denver International Airport on Tuesday morning.
Scott Maldonado and Don Digby of Navajo Express Trucking in Denver were the passengers who tackled the man. They said the man's shouts included a reference to jihad, which was also reported by The Associated Press.
"When he was running up the alarming things he was saying … he said 'jihad' two or three times … 'the plane was going down, the plane was going down.' And just really alarming things," Digby said. "Scott and I knew at that point we could not let this individual have one inch."
Authorities met the plane at the gate in Dulles after it turned back. Sources told CBS News investigators believe the man is mentally unstable and might have been on medication. He is now being evaluated at a hospital in Washington.
Tellam was one of 33 passengers on board the flight. She and many others wound up making their flight to Denver on Tuesday morning.
Air traffic control recordings from LiveATC.net as the incident unfolded included the following conversation between one of the pilots and air traffic controllers.
PILOT: United 1074 declaring an emergency. .. We had a passenger becoming violent. No weapon involved. He's restrained by other passengers now, though. We don't know his mental condition, but sounds like he's restrained for now. We just need to get on the ground.
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: United 1074, do you have cockpit secure? United 1074, do you have cockpit secure?
PILOT: Cockpit is secure.
The name of the man has not been released. It's not clear if he will face any charges.
