JetBlue Flight 191 was a scheduled domestic commercial passenger flight from New York to Las Vegas, United States. On March 27, 2012, the Airbus A320 serving the route diverted to Amarillo, Texas, after the captain, suffering from an apparent mental breakdown, started behaving erratically and making disturbing and incoherent statements, leading to the first officer tricking him into entering the cabin where he was restrained by staff and passengers. There were no fatalities.[1][2]
Incident
JetBlue Flight 191 had departed John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City and was en route to McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas when Captain Clayton Osbon (49) started acting erratically and ranting about terrorists and the September 11 attacks, apparently suffering from an unspecified mental breakdown. First Officer Jason Dowd (41) grew concerned when Osbon made comments such as "We need to take a leap of faith", "We're not going to Vegas", and "I can't be held responsible when this plane crashes." Osbon began giving what the first officer described as a sermon.
Realizing Osbon was unfit for duty, Dowd tricked him into going to the passenger compartment, then locked the cockpit door and changed the security code. Osbon, agitated that he was no longer able to enter the cockpit, rushed at the cockpit door in a rage and railed at passengers about Jesus, Al-Qaeda, countries in the Middle East, and a possible bomb on board. Alarmed staff and passengers tackled him and tied him up with seat belt extenders.
After Osbon was evaluated in a federal mental health facility in North Carolina, on November 9, 2012, Judge Robinson freed him under the provisions that he continue mental health treatment, follow a prescribed medication regime, and meet a variety of other conditions. Osbon must continue to be monitored by his probation officer for an undetermined amount of time. "This is a bad situation for you and your family, but you are very fortunate to have the type of immediate support you have," Robinson said. "Good Luck, Mr. Osbon."[13]
In March 2015, Osbon filed a suit against JetBlue for $14.9 million, claiming that the airline did not ensure he was fit to fly, and endangered the lives of the crew and the passengers.[14] The suit was filed three days after the Germanwings Flight 9525 crash, in which the co-pilot deliberately crashed the plane killing all the people aboard. The passenger suit was settled the following month; terms of the settlement were not disclosed to the public.[15]
Causes of illness
The cause of Osbon's mental breakdown remains unknown. Possibilities suggested included the onset of a psychotic disorder, a neurological event that compromised his brain function, or intoxication due to medication.[16] In his March 2015 lawsuit against JetBlue, Osbon claimed the incident was caused by a complex partial brain seizure.[17]
In popular culture
The incident was featured in an episode during season 2 of World's Worst Flights.[citation needed]
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