Delta passengers, crew subdued ‘unruly’ off-duty flight attendant

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An off-duty Delta Air Lines flight attendant wearing a helmet and knee pads tried to commandeer the plane’s PA system before he was taken down by fellow passengers, according to reports and intense video footage.

The frantic footage from inside Friday’s Delta Flight 1730 from Los Angeles to Atlanta shows several passengers and crew members struggling to contain the “unruly” off-duty worker.

“Stay down, man!” one person told the crazed man while atop him in the crowded aisle, the clip shows. “Stay down!”

“Help me, help me, Jesus!” the off-duty flight attendant screamed. “Help me, Jesus! Somebody help me! Somebody help me!”

It took at least five people to subdue the male passenger — after the captain was forced to call on “all able-bodied men” to help, fellow flier Benjamin Curlee told CNN.

Witnesses said the unhinged traveler tried to open the cockpit door and tried to take over the aircraft’s intercom, according to reports.

The frightening disturbance caused the plane to be diverted to Oklahoma City — where the off-duty worker was reportedly taken into custody by police.

Curlee, 29, said the flight was roughly two hours outside of Atlanta when Delta crew advised passengers to return to their seats as the chaos broke out.

“I feared the worst,” Curlee, who works as a media producer, told CNN Saturday. “I prayed that God would protect my family in case I was gone.”

Curlee and another passenger nearby sprang into action, but didn’t get very far because “basically every man on the plane stepped up” and stormed into the aisle, he said.

“It was very tense, very adrenaline fueled,” Curlee recalled.

Passengers characterized the flight attendant as “very weird” and “very incoherent,” CNN reported. He was also described as being “dressed quite oddly” — wearing a helmet, with elbow and knee pads, the outlet said.

Another passenger told Curlee that the man had written a note to an on-duty flight attendant accusing him of being a hijacker, according to the report.

Some passengers also claimed the deranged traveler tried to open the cabin door, but Delta disputes that claim, CBS Los Angeles reported.

Delta Air Lines spokeswoman Morgan Durrant told The Post Monday the unruly passenger was an inactive employee who was currently on leave.

“There is an ongoing investigation into this matter and so not able to comment further,” Durrant wrote in an email.

The aircraft managed to land without further incident or any reported injuries, Durrant said.

“We apologize to our customers for the delay and any additional inconvenience,” Durrant’s statement continued.

The inactive Delta employee was taken into custody upon landing in Oklahoma City, where bomb technicians searched and cleared the aircraft, CNN reported. Criminal charges had not reportedly been filed as of Saturday.

FBI spokeswoman Megan Lauro told the New York Times Saturday that the off-duty flight attendant was jailed and being questioned by authorities. She declined to comment on possible charges he faced, the newspaper reported.

A message seeking further comment was not immediately returned Monday.

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