B737-800
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 150
Other / Unknown
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Security; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Passenger Misconduct
Flight Crew Diverted; Flight Crew Landed As Precaution; General Flight Cancelled / Delayed; General Police / Security Involved
Human Factors
During cruise the Flight Attendants (FA) notified the cockpit of a Passenger who had removed his shirt; claimed to be Jesus Christ and headed towards the front of the aircraft. Two Flight Attendants intercepted the Passenger and led him to the aft galley area where he continued to make irrational statements. Lockdown was immediately instituted as well as all Level 1 threat protocols. I instructed the FA's to clear the back row of the aircraft and locate two passengers to be Able Bodied Assistants (ABA) willing to assist them. I instructed the F/A's to seat this Passenger between the ABAs and if he was not compliant; he was to be secured with tuff cuffs and seated between them. I also asked them to locate any Medical Personnel onboard for further assessment of the Passengers condition. One of the ABAs was in fact an EMT.I notified Dispatch (via ACARS) of a Level One threat in progress. After gaining further information from the Flight Attendants we initiated voice contact with Dispatch and then a phone patch (via ARINC) with Medical and Dispatch. The decision was made to divert and have both EMS and Law Enforcement meet the aircraft as well as Maintenance for an overweight landing. The Passenger's behavior remained at Level One; but based on the information from the Flight Attendants I felt it could very quickly escalate; thus the request for Law Enforcement. Based on the medical evaluation and all available information I felt this Passenger was in need of either medical or Law Enforcement intervention. The flight crew coordinated the diversion through Dispatch; ran the diversion checklist and proceeded. The aircraft was met by Law Enforcement and EMS upon arrival. Law Enforcement entered through the aft service door along with EMS. The Passenger was secured and removed via the aft service door. I believe that Law Enforcement boarded the ambulance with the Passenger for transport. A logbook entry was made for the overweight landing and notification made to Maintenance through Dispatch. Additional notifications through Dispatch to the Supervisor of Dispatch as well as the Chief Pilot on Call were made. Maintenance completed the overweight landing inspection and returned the aircraft to service. I spent a few minutes with each Flight Attendant and made sure they were ok; and ok to continue our last leg. With notifications complete; the aircraft returned to service; and a new Release; the flight continued uneventfully to our destination.I am submitting this event as for informational purposes. The crew (both cockpit and cabin) followed Company procedure to the letter to attain a safe outcome to a stressful event. It should be noted that the Cabin Crew and the First Officer did their jobs in an outstanding manner in a stress filled and time compressed environment using all of the policies; procedures and tools afforded us by the Company. This event is worth examining as a successful implementation.of those procedures.
The B737 Captain elected to divert to a nearby airport in order to remove an unstable and irrational passenger. Law Enforcement and EMS removed the passenger from the airplane.