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JetBlue ‘meltdown’ pilot not guilty
JetBlue Pilot Captain Clayton Frederick Osbon has been found not guilty by reason of insanity by a federal judge in Amarillo, Texas, the Associated Press reports.
Osbon was arrested after he suffered what appeared to be a mental breakdown on a JetBlue flight in March.
According to CNN, Osbon was found to have committed the offense of interfering with a flight crew member by Judge Mary Lou Robinson.
Robinson ordered him to be confined until sentencing in August. He is currently being held at a ‘low-security’ federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas.
When contacted for comment by Travel Mole, JetBlue spokesperson Alison Croyle said: "We’re supportive of the Osbon family and we’ll continue to let the judicial process play out."
Croyle also confirmed that the airline complied and will continue to comply with all FAA rules and regulations regarding flight staff health checks.
These health checks comprise a first class health certificate renewed annually for pilots under 40 and every six months for pilots over 40 (Osbon is 49). Osbon’s flight career goes back to 1989 and he has worked for JetBlue for 12 years.
JetBlue flight attendant, Steven Slater, was judged guilty of fourth-degree criminal mischief after an incident during which Slater inflated the emergency exit and fled the craft after altercations with passengers.
Slater was sentenced to pay a $10,000 fine to his former employer, JetBlue, in 2010. He was also sentenced to a year of probation and mandatory counseling and substance abuse treatment in 2011. A harsher earlier felony charge was dropped.
When asked whether these incidents should raise red flags for the flying public, Jean Medina, spokesperson for Airlines for America (formerly ATA) told TravelMole: "We are in the safest period of aviation history in large part because of well-established system of checks and balances and a shared goal of the airlines, unions, manufacturers and FAA to build on our safety record every day."
By Gretchen Kelly
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