JetBlue: Pilot removed from flight in Boston for health reasons, not for e-mailing threat

JetBlue: Illness kept pilot off flight, not threat

BOSTON — JetBlue says a pilot was removed from duty in Boston for health reasons, not for sending an e-mail to his girlfriend claiming he’d crash a plane if they didn’t reconcile.

JetBlue spokesman Bryan Baldwin said in a statement released Thursday that no customers or aircraft were ever in danger.

Local media outlets had reported that the pilot was taken into custody for sending a message to his girlfriend threatening to crash the plane he was scheduled to fly. JetBlue dismissed that report as “vicious rumor and speculation.”

Baldwin says the airline is working with Boston authorities to ensure the pilot receives medical attention. The airline and the Transportation Security Administration declined to provide additional information, citing privacy concerns.