JetBlue Pilot Plans Insanity Defense

[DieselDragRacer]

AMARILLO, Texas—A JetBlue Airways captain accused of disrupting a flight when he left the cockpit screaming about religion and terrorists plans to use an insanity defense at trial.


An attorney for Clayton F. Osbon filed a motion Wednesday outlining plans to argue Mr. Osbon was insane at the time of the incident on the March 27 flight from New York to Las Vegas.



Mr. Osbon remains jailed in Texas awaiting a court-ordered psychiatric exam to determine his competency for trial and whether he was legally sane when witnesses say he left the cockpit and ran screaming through the cabin.


Passengers wrestled him to the floor, and he was subdued until the plane made an emergency landing in Amarillo.


Prosecutor Christy Drake declined to comment on the filing.

 

[coogebeachhotel]

and the other option would have been?

 

[Blue Dude]

Is there some discretion here on the part of the prosecution? Couldn't he just show evidence that for whatever reason he wasn't in his right mind and therefore a Federal trial isn't warranted? I'm not sure what the point is of spending lots of taxpayer dollars on this.

 

[shroomwell]

I don't understand why he can't be granted bail. That is BS.

 

[bubbers44]

Pleading insanity so he could be let out on bail??????????

 

[Blue Dude]

Pleading insanity so he could be let out on bail??????????

One doesn't preclude the other. If a temporary medical condition caused the incident it would warrant both being released on bail under supervision and avoiding a stint in Federal prison. I'm still not convinced that throwing the book at him is appropriate.

 

[Baze]

and the other option would have been?

The Chewbacca Defense!

 

["TheBigPicture"]

I don't understand why he can't be granted bail. That is BS.

Because he's a flight risk!:nuts::nuts:

 

[crxpilot]

We are not the enemy, but that is how the government wants to treat us now. This poor guy needs mental help, not an incrimination. Even Zimmerman got away with "potential" murder for what over a month before Al Sharpton got him thrown in jail!

 

[bubbers44]

I hope he gets the help he needs. I didn't mean throw him under the bus but he caused a huge disturbance interfering with crew members. You can't let him out on bail unless you can be sure he won't do it again. Do we have any proof of that? A pilot can not expect special treatment other citizens must obey. We as pilots are human and it is possible to have a mental breakdown as he did but we are not special and should be treated as anyone else that went out of control. Let him get treated for his mental breakdown before letting him back if he still has a problem.

 

[NuGuy]

Is there some discretion here on the part of the prosecution? Couldn't he just show evidence that for whatever reason he wasn't in his right mind and therefore a Federal trial isn't warranted? I'm not sure what the point is of spending lots of taxpayer dollars on this.

He had the bad luck of doing this on a slow news day.

Nu

 

[airplane wizard]

I don't understand why he can't be granted bail. That is BS.

yea...they let murders out on bail.

 

[Miami Freight]

I hope he gets the help he needs. I didn't mean throw him under the bus but he caused a huge disturbance interfering with crew members. You can't let him out on bail unless you can be sure he won't do it again. Do we have any proof of that? A pilot can not expect special treatment other citizens must obey. We as pilots are human and it is possible to have a mental breakdown as he did but we are not special and should be treated as anyone else that went out of control. Let him get treated for his mental breakdown before letting him back if he still has a problem.

It's easy enough to keep him off a plane. Add him to the TSA watch list, problem solved. He can't buy a ticket. I'm sure he's no longer in CASS.

 

[CiFIknow]

Typical over-reaction by the Feds who, of course, are doing their best to keep us "safe". Completely headline driven. Really feel bad for the guy as this cannot have been his normal state of being. But to be pushed to the point of having to plead insanity is pretty ridiculous.

 

[sealy101]

I believe he was temporarily insane. Probably due to medication he was taking.

 

[N311HK]

Typical over-reaction by the Feds who, of course, are doing their best to keep us "safe". Completely headline driven. Really feel bad for the guy as this cannot have been his normal state of being. But to be pushed to the point of having to plead insanity is pretty ridiculous.

Ridiculous? Were the Shoe or Underwear bombers given bail? Just because he has the same profession does not make it better. Ask yourself. If he called Allah his god or his skin were dark would you have the same empathy? No flame or trying to be insensitive. Just imagine if he was doing IOE with a new hire and there wasn't a commuting pilot in the back. Do you think any family member of the Egypt Air crash would have a take on this?

 

[Skank]

Ridiculous? Were the Shoe or Underwear bombers given bail? Just because he has the same profession does not make it better. Ask yourself. If he called Allah his god or his skin were dark would you have the same empathy? No flame or trying to be insensitive. Just imagine if he was doing IOE with a new hire and there wasn't a commuting pilot in the back. Do you think any family member of the Egypt Air crash would have a take on this?

Lumping him in with those guys, really? Those guys attended training camps in the destert to learn how to kill us. Are you really making that comparison?

 

[waveflyer]

Hey man, there are a lot of places you can have a mental break down with a lot less consequences.
Without knowing him, it's probably a sad story- but there are lots of things you can't do once.

Here's the question though- is interference with a flight crewmember, if you are also a flight crewmember, really treated the same as any passenger? Seems a bit odd- but probably the only thing they could hold him on without going the terrorist route.

 

[DieselDragRacer]

Does loss of medical insurance have any exclusions if a 'crime' was committed? What I'm getting at is your homeowners insurance, personal liability umbrella and auto insurance has all kinds of loopholes if you commit a felony.

 

[N311HK]

Lumping him in with those guys, really? Those guys attended training camps in the destert to learn how to kill us. Are you really making that comparison?

Me, personally no. But I'm sorry when the moment he "allegedly" went to move those levers to idle and said "we're going down," he is in the same ballpark as those other guys. This isn't just a bad day at work here bro, attempted murder over US airspace is serious stuff.