Former Captain Clayton F. Osbon, the JetBlue Airways pilot who abandoned the cockpit during a flight from Las Vegas to New York City, screaming about Jesus and al Qaeda, was found not guilty of interfering with a flight crew, according to reports from CBS affiliate KFDA. An Amarillo, Texas federal judge found the former captain not guilty by reason of insanity during a bench trial, the station reported. Osbon reportedly suffered from a “severe mental disease or defect that impaired his ability” to understand that his midair panic on March 27 was wrong.
Osbon will reportedly be sent back to a federal mental health facility in Fort Worth, Texas for further examination. He will be brought back to Amarillo in August for another hearing, where the judge will examine medical recommendations relating to Osbon’s eventual release.
