Even in the most dire circumstances pilots are trained to keep their cool, but it was an unsuspecting passenger who had to take control when a JetBlue captain went beserk in the middle of a flight on Tuesday.

The pilot "exhibited erratic behavior," according to a TSA statement, when he began ranting about bombs “Iraq, al-Qaeda, and terrorism,” and struck fear into the hearts of the 135 passengers on board.

Disturbing new audio has emerged from Italy revealing that the captain of the doomed cruise ship radioed the port insisting the Costa Concordia had simply had a blackout, a full 30 minutes after the vessel had crashed into a rocky reef.

An unidentified crew member -- who the AP has named as captain, Francesco Schettino -- can be heard radioing to Livorno port officials at 10:12 p.m. on Friday night, telling staff that he was checking out reasons for the blackout.

What he doesn't reveal is that the massive vessel -- which was carrying 4,200 passengers, including 120 Americans -- had already capsized on its side, reported the Washington Times.