The captain who disrupted a JetBlue flight from JFK airport in New York has been identified as Clayton Osbon. The 49 year old commander has been a pilot with JetBlue for 12 years.

On March 27th Osbon was the captain on the Las Vegas-bound flight 191. When the plane was in midair, Osbon had, what's being described as a "panic attack". He became disruptive and violent and had to be subdued and wrestled to the floor with the help of passengers. The co-pilot had locked him out of the cockpit fearing that Osbon's incoherent behavior might become a safety hazard. The flight had to make an emergency landing at Amarillo, Texas, where he was taken into custody by the FBI.

JetBlue officials had said that the flight was diverted due to a "medical situation", which had later turned into a security situation.

Passengers aboard the flight said that Osbon seemed disoriented and nervous. He walked around the cabin warning of threats from the Middle Eastern nations. He became even more violent when other members of the crew tried to calm him down. One passenger recounted that a very disturbed Osbon kept screaming something to the tune of : "Iraq, al-Qaida, terrorism, we're all going down" followed by "say the Lord's prayer."

CBS news reported that Osbon was apparently irritated with the noise on the radio and all the chatter. He kept muttering "keep the chatter down" while haphazardly pressing buttons on the panel in the cockpit. It was after this that the co-pilot locked him out and didn't let him enter the cockpit again.

Osbon has had no previous record of abnormal behavior and is generally regarded as being in good health by his colleagues. He has been suspended and has been charged with "interfering with crew-member instructions".

He is being held in a medical facility in Amarillo, Texas.