A Hilo man who tried to rape a woman in the bathroom of a Japan Airlines flight is not guilty by reason of insanity, a judge ruled at a brief trial Wednesday.

The FBI said Michael Tanouye forced his way into the airplane bathroom and attempted to sexually assault a female passenger on Oct. 11, 2014. He also injured another passenger who, along with flight attendants and other passengers, went to help the woman.

While struggling with Tanouye, the woman was able to push the bathroom’s emergency button. The woman’s mother, the flight attendants and other passengers tried to open the lavatory door but could not because Tanouye was blocking the door, a court affidavit said. They had to open the door by removing screws from its hinges.

THE PLANE’S captain turned the aircraft around and returned to Honolulu following the incident. The airplane had been less than two hours into its flight to Kansai International Airport.

Tanouye doesn’t dispute the FBI’s account of what happened aboard JAL Flight 791.

His lawyer, Rick Sing, presented medical and psychiatric reports prepared by federal prison staff that say Tanouye was suffering from a severe mental disease at the time and is therefore not legally responsible for his actions.

U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson found Tanouye not guilty by reason of insanity and set a hearing for April to determine whether he should remain in custody for the protection of others.

Tanouye has been in custody since his arrest.

The verdict is based on facts that Tanouye’s defense attorney and a prosecutor agreed upon, including conclusions from mental health evaluations.

Not guilty by reason of insanity is “the only reasonable and sensible” verdict, the judge said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.