AMARILLO, Texas (AP) - A judge will decide later this month whether to release a JetBlue Airways pilot who was found not guilty by reason of insanity after disrupting a New York-to-Las Vegas flight by leaving the cockpit and yelling about religion and terrorists.
U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson on Wednesday set an Oct. 23 hearing for Clayton F. Osbon to determine if the North Carolina man should go free or be held longer in a mental facility.
Robinson found Osbon not guilty of interference with a flight crew during a brief trial in July.
A forensic neuropsychologist testified that Osbon had a "brief psychotic disorder" during the flight brought on by lack of sleep.
The judge extended Osbon's evaluation after another psychotic episode in prison.
The flight landed safely in Amarillo.
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