CBS/AP/ July 3, 2012, 4:30 PM

JetBlue pilot who left cockpit found not guilty

(CBS/AP) AMARILLO, Texas - The JetBlue Airways pilot who left the cockpit during a flight and screamed about religion and terrorists was found not guilty of interfering with a flight crew, CBS affiliate KFDA reports.

An Amarillo federal judge found former Captain Clayton F. Osbon not guilty by reason of insanity during a bench trial, the station reports.

The Amarillo Globe-News reports that the court order states Osbon suffered from a "severe mental disease or defect that impaired his ability" to understand that his midair meltdown in March was wrong.

Osbon will be sent back to a federal mental health facility in Fort Worth for further examination, KFDA reports. He's expected to be brought back to Amarillo in August for another hearing where the judge will review medical recommendations relating to Osbon's eventual release.

Osbon was indicted after a March 27 incident on flight from Las Vegas to New York. Passengers say they had to wrestle him to the floor after he left the cockpit mid-flight and ran through the plane's cabin yelling about Jesus and al Qaeda.

Popular on CBSNews.com

13 Comments Add a Comment

linkicon reporticon emailicon

nohater says:

he should never ever be allowed to fly any airplane again. if he is allowed to continue flying and it's aircraft that carries passengers then those passengers should be warned of his insanity history before making reservations on the flight.


thechooch1 replies:: linkicon reporticon emailicon; nohater the FAA is very strict when it comes to medical issues. I have had friends who have had to wait extended periods to get their licenses renewed for lesser things such as high blood pressure. There is no chance he will get his license back and fly commercially again.

: linkicon reporticon emailicon
ojossogood says:: The law is following established protocol. Even though he has been found not guilty by reason of insanity,
he has lost his job. Maybe JetBlue has disability programs offered to their employees. After his next appearance in Texas, he may be able to "retire" on a disability. I sure hope his evaluation by professionals finds him sane enough to function freely in an open society.

He most likely will never be allowed to fly an aircraft again. Sad to see a long time employee end his career this way.; reply

: linkicon reporticon emailicon
rwsmith29456 says:: Sure it's obvious the guy was off, but it probably needed to be declared so by the law as insanity as grounds for not regaining his license.; reply

: linkicon reporticon emailicon
smittyc says:: Lot of pressure for those that work in the airline industry. I think we all know that the terrorist are not done and sooner or later another commercial flight will be blown up while airborne. That threat weighs on all the pilots sanity and this guy just lost it. Nobody was hurt, he had a mental meltdown after years of service. I don't see punishment as a good outcome in this situation. I hope the guy is all right in the long run, heck they should leave him alone and send him a monthly disability check.; reply

: linkicon reporticon emailicon
AnnieDanny says:: Well, I'm glad he's not going to jail. It did seem bizarre, like something was actually wrong with him.; reply

linkicon reporticon emailicon

werntrouble says:

Let's just hope he never gets to fly planes again!


thechooch1 replies:: linkicon reporticon emailicon; No chance

: linkicon reporticon emailicon
knewsteerrrrr says:: not guilty by reason of insanity "

So he got up that morning perfectly normal and sane, fully capable of flying the airplane and then suddenly- POOF!!! he became an "insane" babbling idiot?
Right! sounds to me like DRUGS!; reply