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Who Is Captain Osbon's Exception?

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On the morning of March 27, 2012, Captain Clayton Osbon showed up late for an in-flight brief (Avila, Hosford, & Ng, 2012), which was not normal for this well-respected professional. As a result, JetBlue flight 191 departed from JFK airport 33 minutes late, at 7:28 AM Eastern standard Time with 6 crewmembers and 131 passengers. As the plane was gaining altitude, Captain Osbon mentioned being evaluated to the copilot, Jason Dowd (Avila, Hosford, & Ng, 2012). This was the second violation of social and professional norms. Shortly after, Captain Osbon yelled at air-traffic control to be quiet, turned off the radios, dimmed monitors and told the copilot that “… We need to take a leap of faith…” (Avila, Hosford, & Ng, 2012). The copilot decided …show more content…

During this time, the off duty pilot moved into the cockpit, and the copilot changed the security code to the door preventing Osbon’s reentry. In the cabin, the flight attendants attempted to control Osbon, following Crew Resource Management protocols, but Osbon returned to the cockpit door (Nicas & Pasztor, 2012; Fernandez, 2012; Avila, Hosford, & Ng, 2012; Cox, 2012). When Obson found that he was locked out of the cockpit, he became enraged pounded on the door. The copilot announced over the loudspeaker that Osbon was not allowed into the cockpit, and should be restrained (Nicas & Pasztor, 2012; Fernandez, 2012; Crawley & Peterson, 2012). Six passengers who were members of the security industry restrained Osbon while the flight attendants watched (ABC News, 2012). The flight attendants probably allowed passengers to physically restrain Osbon because they required physical assistance to ensure survival of the flight. With Osbon restrained, the copilot communicated with Amarillo International Airport, declared his flight an emergency, and requested permission to land there instead of Las Vegas. Upon receiving permission, the copilot coordinated for medical and security personnel to meet the plane on the runway. The copilot and the off duty pilot landed the plane

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