Pilot of flight to Las Vegas was ‘insane’
A pilot who had to be restrained by passengers after he flipped out on a flight was suffering from insanity, a court has ruled, even though his airline records showed there had been nothing untoward in his behaviour prior to the incident in March.
JetBlue pilot Clayton Osbon was found not guilty of interfering with crew on a flight from New York to Las Vegas, said the BBC.
A judge in Amarillo, Texas, said Osbon – who had been deemed competent enough to stand trial – had suffered "severe mental disease or defect".
Flight 191 was forced to make an emergency landing after Osborn began ranting that there was a bomb on board and some of the 135 passengers had to wrestle him to the floor. See earlier story here.
Osborn will be re-evaluated before a hearing on August 6 to decide whether he should be released or sent to a mental health facility.
By Linsey McNeill
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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