AP/ April 18, 2012, 9:28 PM

JetBlue pilot Clayton Osbon to use insanity defense

(AP) AMARILLO, Texas - A JetBlue Airways captain accused of disrupting a flight when he left the cockpit screaming about religion and terrorists plans to use an insanity defense at trial.

An attorney for Clayton F. Osbon filed a motion Wednesday outlining plans to argue Osbon was insane at the time of the incident on the March 27 flight from New York to Las Vegas.

Osbon remains jailed in Texas awaiting a court-ordered psychiatric exam to determine his competency for trial and whether he was legally sane when witnesses say he left the cockpit and ran screaming through the plane's cabin about Jesus and al Qaeda.

Passengers wrestled him to the floor and he was subdued until the plane's copilot made an emergency landing in Amarillo.

Prosecutor Christy Drake declined to comment on the filing Wednesday.

Earlier court documents show Osbon has been indicted on one count of interference of a flight crew. It's the same charge he's been held on since shortly after the incident.

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craigh9 says:
Another giant waste of government resources. The man obviously had a break down - pursuing criminal charges is ridiculous. If the man intented to do harm he never would have left the cockpit!
How have we become a nation of ZERO common sense that we would push this forward criminally - obviously a few people are trying to make a name for themselves with this nonsense.
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ellensmithee replies:
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I agree.
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retiredgustav says:
My guess is an undiagnosed brain tumor. This happened to a friend of mind that went undiagnosed for about 3 months before it showed up in a CAT scan.
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Jimminycrackcorn says:
This guy clearly had a mental meltdown. He didn't hurt anyone, he just freaked out. His normal life is over forever, and he needs some help. He'll never fly again. He doesn't deserve to be prosecuted criminally.
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andie52 replies:
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The point is that if the co captain hadn't been able to lock him out of the cockpit and the passngers couldn't subdue him what would have happened? I doubt that the insanity defense will hold
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Ourdoc1 says:
"Osbon remains jailed in Texas awaiting a court-ordered psychiatric exam to determine his competency for trial and whether he was legally sane when witnesses say he left the cockpit and ran screaming through the plane's cabin about Jesus and al Qaeda"

Only because Lawyers will tell you it's like doing brain surgery, they have to "determine" what is meant by everything. They have no clue about simple COMMON SENSE. 10,000 dead lawyers at the bottom of the ocean is a good start...
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retiredgustav replies:
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Texas ...Give him the needle!
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eteamer says:
Insanity is a disease. Jail is the hospital.
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