Italian pilot threatened to crash passenger jet if his wife left him

When his wife threatened to leave the pilot sent a text saying he would kill himself along with 200 passengers

The man's wife alerted officers at Fiumicino airport, who were able to replace the pilot without the passengers' knowledge (Getty)

An Italian pilot allegedly threatened to crash his passenger jet if his wife left him, but was stopped minutes before taking off by police.

When his wife apparently threatened to leave, the unnamed Italian pilot, in his 40s, sent a text saying he would kill himself along with the 200 passengers on his Rome-Japan flight, The Times reported.

However, the man's wife allegedly alerted officers at Fiumicino airport, who were able to replace the pilot without the passengers' knowledge.

The reported incident occured in January last year - two months before German pilot Andreas Lubitz deliberately crashed Germanwings A320 into the Alps - and was kept secret until now.

Allegedly, after threatening to kill himself failed to persuade her to stay, he sent the text about deliberately crashing the plane.

Now suspended, he is still said to be undergoing psychiatric evaluation.