Documents charging JetBlue pilot Clayton Frederick Osbon with interfering with flight operations offer new details about what happened aboard JetBlue Flight 191 from New York’s John F. Kennedy (JFK) Airport to Las Vegas before it made an emergency stop in Amarillo yesterday because of his erratic behavior.
An FBI agent who interviewed the first officer, another JetBlue pilot who was traveling as a passenger and two of the three flight attendants said that Osbon talked about his church and needing to “focus.” He also made incoherent statements about his religion.
Osbon talked about sins in Las Vegas before he told the first officer, “We’re not going to Vegas,” and launched into what the first officer described as a sermon. Roughly 3.5 hours into the flight, Osbon “abruptly” left the cockpit without following the company’s security protocol and started banging on the lavatory door, according to the affidavit.
After Osbon left the bathroom he allegedly mentioned “150 souls on board,” walked to the back of the aircraft and then sprinted back to the forward gallery. From the affidavit:
Osbon started trying to enter his code in order to re-enter the cockpit, and he banged on the door hard enough that the [first officer] thought he was coming through the door. The [first officer] and the non-rev captain locked the cockpit door from the inside. The FO announced over the PA system an order to restrain Osbon. The flight attendants were already trying to stop Osbon from entering his code. Several passengers jumped in to help and brought Osbon down in the forward gallery. One female flight attendant suffered bruised ribs during the struggle. According to one of the passengers who assisted, Osbon said “pray fucking now for Jesus Christ”. Osbon also yelled jumbled comments about Jesus, September 11th, Iraq, Iran, and terrorists. He also yelled “Guys, push it to full throttle.”
