JetBlue Pilot Faces Charges: 20 Years Possible for Erratic Behavior
The JetBlue pilot who presumably had a nervous breakdown mid-flight on March 27 has been released from the hospital and is now facing criminal charges.
Captain Clay Osbon was taken into federal custody Monday after being discharged from the hospital at which he was issued, following his disorderly behavior on Flight 191. Prosecutors told a judge Monday that Osbon should remain in federal custody without bond.
A detention hearing has been scheduled for Thursday. Osbon could face up to 20 years in prison for interfering with his own flight crew.
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On Friday, Captain Osbon began to act with sudden erratic behavior while flying a Las Vegas bound, JetBlue aircraft. The first officer of the flight responded by locking the pilot out of the cockpit and landing the Las Vegas bound airplane in Amarillo, Texas.
Captain Clay Osbon began to run through the passenger aisles, making incoherent marks about religion and terrorists. Passengers responded by tackling the captain in order to subdue him.
"The government filed a motion for pretrial detention alleging there are no conditions of release which will reasonably assure the safety of any other person and the community," U.S. Magistrate Judge Clinton Averitte said in an Amarillo, Texas court on Monday.
Osbon was transferred from the Northwest Texas Healthcare System in Amarillo to the Randall County jail, where it was ordered that he be kept separate from fellow inmates.
Sunday, Osbon's wife released a statement declaring that her husband was not a violent man.
"It is our belief, as Clayton's family, that while he was clearly distressed, he was not intentionally violent toward anyone," Connye Osbon remarked. "We know you were placed in an awful situation and we appreciate your ability to respond professionally."
Osbon also thanked the crew for being for being "kind and compassionate" in treating her husband, who has worked at Jet Blue for over 12 years, with respect.
