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Sleep deprivation caused JetBlue pilot's midflight meltdown

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  • Description

    Doctor testifies that lack of sleep triggered 'brief psychotic disorder'

  • Duration 3:23
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JetBlue pilot -- a minute flight -- doubting screamed about terrorists who's going through a brief psychotic disorder because of a lack of sleep.

That is the conclusion from a Doctor Who testified in the pilots trial according to court documents obtained by the Associated Press.

Remember the video from back in March passengers tackled the captain after he started running through the cabin shouting bring this plane down al-Qaeda is here.

The first officer diverted the Vegas bound flight to Amarillo Texas.

According to these new court documents the doctor said that sleep deprivation helped trigger the pilots disorder.

Which lasted a week after the meltdown but a jetBlue spokeswoman said the pilot.

Had seventeen hours off before that flight and an entire weekend off just before the seventeen hours.

The judge found the pilot not guilty of interfering with a flight crew by reason.

Of insanity.

For this now forensic psychologist doctor Cheryl Eric I mean.

-- this is got to be a very rare diagnosed.

It's doctor it is a rare diagnosis it's more common in developing countries than it is here in the US but it's not impossible that this could happen.

Yeah -- you think c'mon this guy ran through the -- saying al-Qaeda is coming bringing down this plane were supposed to believe you know he just didn't get enough sleep last night.

-- that's interesting point because if he were in a chronic state of sleep deprivation.

Sleeping -- crash pads are not really following the airline rules -- how much sleep to get.

It's possible he might have been one bad night's sleep away from really losing and I thank -- I just horrified conductor bring in Najaf for -- and -- is on her legal team on this and -- my question do you I guess would be you know we we talk about this flight it was about 3407 that killed fifty people a few years ago on buffalo and buffalo and really the cause of that.

Was not enough sleep for pilots and this is is apparently becoming a major deal for the airline industry and I can see lawsuits fly.

Well it's a very interesting thing because I've been thinking about that as I'm sitting here and -- suddenly dawns on me if jet blue's biggest concern was -- Is there going to be evidence that we knew or we should have known that there was something wrong -- this guy that he would have a screw break loose.

It seems to me the sleep deprivation issue assuming that they told him to go take off talking to go to sleep -- They can't know what he's doing without having a video feed into his room perhaps that may actually help jetBlue.

Get away from this notion that they knew or they should or they should have known that -- -- But but you look at pilots and Air France crash doctor Eric and pilots need to make split second decisions and so.

This whole thing where they're not getting -- sleep from a doctor's perspective has got to be kind of interest well.

It's potentially.

Serious sleep deprivation is potentially really dangerous because it interferes with your thinking right.

It -- -- I think pilots need great training under stress to make those decisions as you're saying.

But this guy really did lose it -- -- she really did have a psychotic episode I'm just not sure exactly what caused -- precipitated it.

Jeffrey gonna get the last word from the on this what are your thoughts I think -- was a dog and pony show I think that the the government in this case wanted this to go away it wasn't publicized that there will be a trial it was it judge that made the determination.

And I think in the end this helps jetBlue is Randy said I think he's not but I don't think it was temporary insanity.

Yet -- -- ready Zell and stand by doctor Cheryl Aaron thank you thank you so much you need.

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