Amarillo, TX – A JetBlue Airways pilot who left the cockpit during a flight and screamed about religion and terrorists has pleaded not guilty to interfering with a flight crew.
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Court records show Clayton F. Osbon entered the plea at his Thursday arraignment in federal court in Amarillo.
U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson ruled earlier this month that Osbon is mentally competent to stand trial. Her ruling followed a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation.
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-Qaida.
No trial date has been set. Osbon faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
What do they want from the poor guy? He had obviously suffered a mental breakdown of sorts and was not in his right mind. He needs to be monitored by a mental health professional and of course his career as a pilot is done, over, finito. A court-ordered psychiatric evaluation finding him mentally competent to stand trial doesn’t mean a thing. Many people with mental issues can be quite normal before and after an episode.
To #2 - According to the laws of physics, for every action, there is a reaction; if one wants to disrupt and interfere with a commercial flight, then they must pay the price. If they do the crime, they will do the time. Now, this individual can use his mental health as a mitigating factor, but it doesn’t necessarily excuse his crime. It should be noted that for years, the commercial airline industry excused similar episodes by passengers, and failed to prosecute such behavior. Those days are long gone, since in a post 9/11 climate, there is zero tolerance for such behavior.