COCK FIT: Clayton Osbon, the JetBlue captain who went nuts in March while piloting an airliner from JFK and inspired this classic Post front page (inset), was ruled not guilty by reason of insanity by a judge yesterday. (
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The pilot who went bonkers on a flight from JFK to Las Vegas, screaming about religion and terrorists as he ran through the cabin, was found not guilty by reason of insanity yesterday.
Texas federal Judge Mary Lou Robinson issued the ruling at a bench trial for JetBlue pilot Clayton F. Osbon, saying he suffered from a “severe mental disease or defect.”
Osbon, who has been locked up since March, had been found competent to stand trial after a court- ordered psychiatric evaluation.
He’ll now be sent to a federal mental hospital until another hearing, which will be held by Aug. 6. The judge will decide then whether he can be released or will be held at a psychiatric facility.
Osbon was charged with interfering with a flight crew after the harrowing March 27 incident.
Passengers wrestled him to the floor after he ran through the plane’s cabin yelling about Jesus and al Qaeda.
Next month’s hearing puts the burden on Osbon to show “by clear and convincing evidence” that his release would not pose a future danger, court papers say.
JetBlue spokeswoman Alison Croyle said the airline “continues to support the Osbon family; we don’t have further comment as we let the judicial process play out. We can confirm he is still employed, on inactive status, with JetBlue.”
The pilot’s wife, Connye Osbon, issued a statement in April saying the in-flight outburst “wasn’t intentionally violent toward anyone.”
According to court documents, Osbon turned up for work at the airport unusually late on the morning of the flight and, when the plane was in midair, told his first officer they wouldn’t make it to their destination.
Osbon started rambling about religion, scolded air-traffic controllers to quiet down, then turned off the radios altogether and dimmed the monitors in the cockpit. He said aloud that “things just don’t matter,” and encouraged his co-pilot to take a “leap of faith.’’
The first officer “became really worried,” according to an FBI affidavit, which added, “Osbon started trying to correlate completely unrelated numbers like different radio frequencies, and he talked about sins in Las Vegas.”
He then left the cockpit and grabbed the hands of a flight attendant who confronted him. Then he sprinted through the cabin, heading toward the front of the plane while being chased by passengers and crew.
Passengers wrestled Osbon to the ground before the Airbus A320 was diverted to Amarillo, Texas.