JetBlue pilot innocent but insane

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AMARILLO, Texas, July 3 (UPI) -- A JetBlue pilot whose erratic behavior led to an emergency landing at the airport in Amarillo, Texas, was found not guilty by reason of insanity Tuesday.

Clayton Osbon will be transported to a federal mental health facility in Fort Worth for further examination, KVII-TV, Amarillo, reported. He will have another court hearing in August.

A doctor said Osbon had a severe mental disease or defect that impaired his ability to "appreciate the nature, quality or wrongfulness of his behavior at the time of the offense," the Findings of Fact and Verdict stated.

Osbon was the captain on a JetBlue flight en route from New York to Las Vegas March 27 when his behavior led to the aircraft being diverted to Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport.

Osbon yelled about the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, ran down the aisle of the plane's cabin and pounded on the cockpit door, court records showed.

None of the 141 passengers and crew members was seriously hurt.

A federal grand jury indicted Osbon in April on charges of interference of a flight crew.