Angelo Cataldi is not afraid to share embarrassing stories on the air. We know that.
So on Monday morning, Cataldi explained the panic attack he had over the weekend while flying from Philadelphia to Providence to see his 98-year-old mother, and how a flight attendant kept him calm.
"I have no problem discussing it," Cataldi began around 7:20am on Monday. "I made a major scene on American Airlines flight 4670, Providence to Philadelphia on Saturday night. By the time I reached the airport I was not in a good mental state because my mom is 98 and she is struggling and it is very hard right now. I wouldn't say she is in any immediate danger, Al, but she is not who she was. She is 98! How much can you do?
"4670, do you realize that means it a smaller plane?"
Angelo explained that he had to duck when he walked down the aisle because he was too tall for the plane. He also said the plane had two seats on one side and one seat on the other and it wasn't a full flight.
"I sat down and a buckled up and I started to sweat and I started to look around and I started to feel extremely panicky. You are no longer in control of your own brain."
"I'm gonna close my eyes and picture myself in a wide open space," he said he told himself. "Then I made a mistake, I opened my eyes and I looked around and I freaked. I unbuckled my belt, I jumped up from my seat, I knocked a couple people over on my attempt to escape the aircraft. I ran, imagine me running. I got to the front and Karen, the flight attendant said, 'You can't leave this plane.' Now, I'm yelling!
"The woman is committed to her job and she said, 'I realize if you did this, you would regret it.' She said, 'Listen I want you to come down.'
"Now, I'm hyperventilating," Cataldi recalled.
"She says, 'I just want you to take a minute. Just sit down in the front seat, that's my seat. Sit in my seat and just calm down for a minute and let me get some of these people on the plane.'
You can listen to the full story below.