JetBlue pilot who raved about terrorists was sleep-deprived, trial told Clayton Osbon, right, was found not guilty on grounds of insanity after a psychotic episode on board the JetBlue flight he captained. Photograph: Michael Schumacher/AP/Amarillo Globe-News The JetBlue pilot who had to be wrestled away from the cockpit while his co-pilot made an emergency landing had suffered a psychotic episode due to lack of sleep, according to a psychologist who testified at his trial. A judge found Clayton Osbon not guilty by reason of insanity during a brief and unpublicised trial earlier this month in Texas. Osbon had been charged with interference with a flight crew for his behaviour on a 27 March flight from New York to Las Vegas. Passengers said they wrestled the pilot to the floor after he ran through the plane's cabin yelling about Jesus and al-Qaida. The flight was diverted to Texas where it landed safely. According to court transcripts, forensic neuropsychologist Robert EH Johnson testified that Osbon's disorder lasted about a week after the incident. Johnson did not specify how long Osborn may have gone without sleep and his psychiatric evaluation was sealed during the trial, but the psychologist said he determined Osbon suffered a brief psychotic disorder and delusions "secondary to sleep deprivation." Osborn had been unable to appreciate the nature and quality of his actions and their wrongfulness, Johnson testified. JetBlue declined to comment on the psychologist's testimony but company spokeswoman Sharon Jones said Osbon did not fly on 24 or 25 March and worked a round-trip flight on March 26 that gave him 17 hours of time off before the 27 March flight on which he broke down. The Federal Aviation Administration was still investigating, spokesman Lynn Lunsford said, adding: "It's still too early to draw conclusions about any potential actions that might occur as the result of this incident." Osbon remains in mental health care. The pilot showed up at the airport unusually late for the 27 March flight and the plane was in midair when he eerily told his first officer they wouldn't make it to their destination, according to court documents. He then started rambling about religion, the documents say. He scolded air traffic controllers to quieten down, then turned off the radios altogether and dimmed the monitors in the cockpit. He said aloud that "things just don't matter" and encouraged his co-pilot that they take a leap of faith, according to court documents. The first officer then "became really worried," according to a sworn affidavit from FBI agent John Whitworth. Osbon started trying to correlate completely unrelated numbers like different radio frequencies and he talked about sins in Las Vegas. Osbon then left the cockpit, according to witness accounts compiled by investigators. Osbon, described by neighbors in Georgia as tall and muscular, "aggressively" grabbed the hands of a flight attendant who confronted him and later sprinted down the cabin while being chased. From inside the locked cockpit, which Osbon tried to re-enter by banging on the door, the co-pilot gave an order through the intercom to restrain Osbon, the affidavit said. Passengers wrestled Osbon to the ground. One female flight attendant's ribs were bruised, though no one on board was seriously hurt. At least 10 passengers sued JetBlue after the incident, claiming they feared for their lives and that the airline had been "grossly negligent" in allowing Osbon to fly. FAA rules going into effect late in 2013 add specifics to how much time a pilot must get to rest. The new rule requires a pilot have a 10-hour rest period, including an eight-hour chance to sleep uninterrupted. Current rules specify that a pilot must get nine hours of rest, reducible to eight hours, but do not factor in sleep opportunity.