A federal judge in Amarillo, Texas, on Tuesday found a JetBlue Airways pilot who left the cockpit mid-flight after telling his colleagues “things just don’t matter” not guilty by reason of insanity, The Associated Press reported.
Clayton Frederick Osbon, of Richmond Hill, Georgia, was piloting JetBlue Flight No. 191 from John F. Kennedy Airport in New York to Las Vegas on March 27 when he left the cockpit and went to the forward lavatory. The flight’s first officer assumed control of the flight and barred Osbon from re-entering the cockpit.
After the first officer declared an emergency, the flight was diverted to Amarillo, Texas. Osbon faced up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Osbon faces a hearing Aug. 6 to determine whether he should be released or committed to a mental health facility, according to The Associated Press report.
In an April statement, Osbon’s wife said her husband “was clearly distressed, he was not intentionally violent toward anyone.”
