JetBlue fliers sue over pilot's midair breakdown

Ten passengers are suing JetBlue over a flight during which a pilot had to be physically restrained after screaming about religion and terrorism. They claim the airline was "grossly negligent" in allowing him to fly.

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The New York lawsuit was filed Wednesday in state Supreme Court in Queens. The 10 plaintiffs, all from the metropolitan New York area, are seeking unspecified damages for emotional distress, according to NBCNewYork.

A flight attendant's ribs were bruised as passengers tried to restrain Osbon, but no one on board was seriously hurt. The March 27 flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Amarillo, Texas.

Osbon faces a hearing Friday morning in Amarillo to determine if he is mentally competent to stand trial. He faces federal charges of interfering with a flight crew. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.

A federal indictment against Osbon described a harrowing flight during which Osbon had to be subdued and forcibly restrained.

The FBI says that while he was at the controls of the Airbus A320 about halfway into the five-hour flight, Osbon said, "Things just don't matter," and told the flight's first officer, "We're not going to Vegas."

The pilot suddenly left the cockpit and started running up and down the aisle, banging on a restroom door, and attempted to force his way back into the cockpit, which by then had been locked by the co-pilot, First Officer Jason Dowd.

Several passengers restrained Osbon while Dowd safely landed the plane.

JetBlue has not yet reviewed the suit and has a policy against commenting on pending litigation, company spokeswoman Alison Croyle said.

Osbon's attorney, Roper, was not immediately available to comment.

Related: JetBlue pilot who had midair breakdown will plead insanity

NBCNewYork, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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