In this handout from the Randall County Sheriff’s Office, JetBlue pilot Clayton Osbon is seen April 2, 2012 in Amarillo, Texas. (Randall County Sheriff’s Office via Getty Images)
AMARILLO, Texas (AP) -- A federal judge in Texas has found a JetBlue Airways pilot who left the cockpit during a flight and screamed about terrorists not guilty by reason of insanity.
The judge's Tuesday ruling came during a bench trial for Clayton F. Osbon. It noted he suffered from a "severe mental disease or defect." Osbon was earlier deemed mentally competent to stand trial.
The pilot will go to a federal mental health facility for examination until another hearing on or before Aug. 6. The judge will decide then whether Osbon can be released or committed to a mental facility.
Osbon was charged with interfering with a flight crew after the March 27 flight from Las Vegas to New York. Passengers wrestled him to the floor after he ran through the plane's cabin.
Associated Press