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Jet Blue Meltdown Pilot Found Not Guilty By Reason Of Insanity

By

Jen Chung

Published Jul 4, 2012

Modified Jul 4, 2012

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"Don't worry, I got this."

 

Pilot Clayton Osbon's Twitter profile photo.

By

Jen Chung

Published Jul 4, 2012

Modified Jul 4, 2012

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A federal judge in Texas has found the Jet Blue pilot who had a mid-flight meltdown, screaming to passengers that they should "say their prayers" and mentioned a bomb, was not guilty by reason of insanity. U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson said Clayton F. Osbon suffered from "severe mental disease or defect."

On March 27, on a flight from JFK Airport to Las Vegas, Osbon had apparently been acting oddly so, two hours into the flight, his co-pilot decided managed to coax him out of the cockpit and locked the door. Then, passengers say Osbon then began running up and down the aisle screaming, "Iraq, Al Qaeda, terrorism, we’re all going down!" Osbon was banging on the door of the cockpit and a bathroom screaming, "I NEED THE CODE! I NEED THE CODE!" That's when the copilot yelled over the P.A. to restrain the Osbon.

Passengers said Osbon also yelled, "We got Iraq, we got Afghanistan, they’re going to take us down too," and "I am distraught. I am distraught." The matter was so upsetting that a group of passengers is suing. One passenger said of the incident, "I think things like this are few and far between. However, I think the FAA ought to use this as an example in determining how to screen pilots and those who control airplanes. There was no tragedy here, thankfully, but the FAA shouldn't have to wait for a tragedy."

Tagged

air travel

clayton osbon

faa

insanity

jetblue

meltdown

Jen Chung

Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

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