Charges have been filed against JetBlue flight pilot who apparently had a psychiatric episode aboard a flight bound for Las Vegas on Tuesday.
Clayton Frederick Osbon, age 49, was charged in US District Court on Wednesday for interfering with in-flight crewmembers. These are the same charges that are usually given to passengers who refused to comply with instructions or turn off electronics during flights.
Osban, according to reports, told his copilot that “things don’t matter,” he made this statement shortly before the flight departed from New York on Tuesday. The copilot said in a statement to authorities, that Osbon began what was described as a sermon after saying “we’re not going to Vegas.”
According to information given to an FBI agent by the copilot, “Osbon started trying to correlate completely unrelated numbers like different radio frequencies and he talked about sins in Las Vegas.” Osbon, also, apparently told the copilot “We need to take the leap of faith.”
Osbon, according to the reports, fiddled with the plane’s controls, and complained of “too much noise,” he said this in to the radio that was monitored by air traffic controllers and other pilots. He also said”Keep the chatter down!” then continued to speak incoherantly. The copilot convinced Osbon to leave the cockpit by saying that he should go to the lavatory to splash water on his face. Then, the copilot instructed a flight attendant to bring an off-duty captain that was traveling as a passenger to the cockpit. once that Capt. was in the cockpit the copilot changed the combination to the door before Osborne could return.
Osbon’s behavior didn’t improve once he was out of the cockpit however, he began to exhibit violent behavior and makes statements like “Pray to Jesus!” and “throttle to idle, throttle to idle! Bring this plane down! Al Qaeda is here!” passengers aboard the flight wrestled him to the ground. No one was seriously injured and the plane made an emergency landing in Amarillo Texas. Once on the ground, FBI agents took Osbon into custody.
JetBlue said Wednesday that Osbon has been removed from active duty pending an investigation.
Osbon has been a pilot for the airlines since the year 2000. The CEO of JetBlue Dave Barger said that he has known Osbon personally for years and described him as a “consummate professional.”
In an effort to find the cause of Osbon’s meltdown, he is undergoing 2 to 3 days of psychiatric testing. He is under guard by Amarillo police officers.
According to documents from the Federal Aviation Administration, Osbon last underwent a medical exam in December and was cleared to fly. Although that examination is primarily a physical and not a psychological exam, although psychological condition is taken into account.
Investigators have spoke to the pilot’s wife, she has told authorities that he has not exhibited any abnormal behavior while with her. Osbon, is highly regarded among his colleagues and has a great reputation. He has also assisted Jet Blue with their pilot training program.