New York, NY – Ten passengers are suing JetBlue over a flight during which a pilot had to be physically restrained after screaming about religion and terrorism. They claim the airline was “grossly negligent” in allowing him to fly.
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The New York lawsuit was filed Wednesday in state Supreme Court in Queens and an early copy of it was provided to The Associated Press.
The lawsuit contends the airline should have known that Clayton Osbon was unfit to fly.
An airline spokesman did not immediately comment.
Osbon faces federal charges of interfering with a flight crew over the disruption aboard a March 27 New York-to-Las Vegas flight. The plane made an emergency landing in Amarillo, Texas.
Witnesses say Osborn ran screaming through the cabin until passengers wrestled him to the floor and subdued him.
How would the airline have known in advance?
I hope Jet Blue counter-sues on the basis of harassment. How in the world do these passengers know that Jet Blue had any indication of the mental health of this pilot?
frivolous lawsuit….
An unfortunate incident. I hope they lose.
oy. then our airfare prices go up too….booooooo
Once upon a time you had to prove damages for a successful lawsuit. What are these passengers claiming, emotional trauma? They were scared and cried a little? Lawyers who urge their clients to bring such suits should be penalized. The suers should be made to pay not only the court costs but an extra penalty as well. If someone had actually been hurt because of this pilot he/she would have a legitimate case but what’s happening here is ridiculous.
It is not a frivolous lawsuit; it Jet Blue did not know in advance of the mental condition of that meshuganah pilot, then it should have known. In the past, there have been other incidents of crazy pilots, with fatal results. For example, in the late 1990’s, an Egypt Air pilot deliberately crashed his plane into the Atlantic Ocean (after it left JFK), killing over 200 passengers. He shouted “Allah Achbar”, before the crash. One would have thought that after that incident, the airline companies on their own volition would have monitored the mental health of its pilots, in addition to their physical health. The passengers should prevail, pertaining to intentional infliction of mental trauma.
Jet Blue will give them a coupon for a free flight, that’s it.
However, seems the airlines don’t do proper ONGOING psychological screening of ALL flight crew.
It’s just a nervous breakdown. Millions of of normal travelers have to be checked in an humiliating way because of the stupid “no racial profiling” law: just check the arabs. Since the air carriers will be safer, so will be more normal the pilots (and the passengers as well).