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JetBlue Passengers Sue Over Pilot's Freaky In-Flight Meltdown
By
John Del Signore
Published Jun 13, 2012
Modified Jun 13, 2012
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Pilot Clayton Osbon's Twitter profile photo.
By
John Del Signore
Published Jun 13, 2012
Modified Jun 13, 2012
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Remember that one time a JetBlue Pilot had a complete mental breakdown during a flight, running through the cabin shrieking "It's gonna blow!" and "Iraq, Al Qaeda, terrorism, we’re all going down!"? And several passengers had to restrain him while the copilot made an emergency landing? The pilot in question, Clayton Osbon, still faces federal charges of interfering with a flight crew on the New York-to-Las Vegas flight. But while that criminal prosecution is ongoing, a group of passengers from the flight are wasting no time suing JetBlue, surprising no one.
The lawsuit, filed in state Supreme Court in Queens, claims the airline was "grossly negligent" in allowing Capt. Clayton Osbon to fly. One flight attendant sustained bruised ribs while trying to subdue Osbon, a strapping man who broke the flex-cuffs when they tried to restrain him. Fortunately, no one on board was seriously injured. According to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by the Associated Press, ten passengers are suing JetBlue for unspecified damages, claiming "the airline knew or should have known he was unfit to be entrusted with the aircraft as pilot."
One passenger, Tony Antolino, knew something was amiss even before Osbon started charging up and down the aisle screaming. He noticed the pilot exit the cockpit midflight and start chatting with flight attendants. Antolino took video of the interaction, which appears to show Osbon relaxed and in control (setting aside the fact that he was shooting the shit when he was supposed to be piloting a plane). But Antolino knew something was up, and it was giving him the fear.
"I, at least, wanted something [to document Osbon] so that, God forbid, the phone was found in a field somewhere, maybe there would be some tip, some hint for someone to say OK, hey, what was going on here,” Antolino told CBS News. Thankfully, however, the plane was safely brought back to terra firma, preserving videos like these to freak out the rest of us:
Tagged
air travel
clayton osbon
jetblue
meltdowns
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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