An American Airlines flight crew took extraordinary measures to restrain an unruly passenger, duct-taping and zip-tying him to his first-class seat after he allegedly became violent and hurled racist slurs, forcing the flight to make an emergency landing.
The 67-year-old Arizona man, who WBFF identified as Arthur Lundeen, was arrested after the flight from Dallas to Newark was diverted to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
Images first obtained by TMZ show the passenger looking “like a mummy,” wrapped in duct tape as he was strapped to his seat. His hands and even his head appear to have been taped down. One image shows the older man with a bloodied right forearm, while his face is blurred.
Video captured during the incident shows crew members and passengers restraining the man during an apparent midair struggle.
“You’re crazy, man,” one person is heard telling the unruly passenger.
“Relax, relax … stop it!” another person is heard saying.
The drama erupted Thursday night as the plane was flying from Fort Worth to Newark, according to TMZ. The reportedly drunk passenger allegedly began yelling at a male passenger seated nearby.
TMZ reported, citing sources, that the man started shouting about Jesus and people going to hell. A black flight attendant then approached Lundeen to defuse the spiraling situation.
That’s when the passenger escalated his behavior– allegedly calling the flight attendant the N-word and hurling an anti-gay slur at him, TMZ reported. The 67-year-old is said to have then turned his ire on fellow passengers by hitting the passenger sitting next to him and striking the man’s computer.
Flight attendants reportedly handed duct tape and zip ties to three male passengers, who used the materials to strap the man back to his seat.
“On Sept. 3, American Airlines flight 618 diverted to Baltimore (BWI) due to a disruptive customer. Upon arrival, law enforcement met the aircraft and assisted with deplaning the customer before the flight continued to its destination,” the airline said in a statement. “The safety and security of our customers and team members is our top priority, and we do not tolerate violence. We thank our team members for their professionalism and our customers for their understanding.”
The flight landed at BWI shortly after 10 p.m. Thursday. Maryland Transportation Authority Police arrested Lundeen at the gate, WBFF reported. He is facing state charges of second-degree assault and disorderly conduct, according to police, and was released on his own recognizance. The FBI is also investigating. His trial is scheduled for October 19.
Thursday’s incident is the latest example of an unruly passenger forcing an airline to abandon normal flight operations and respond to a crisis midair. In June, chaos erupted aboard another American Airlines flight after an unruly passenger reportedly bit a fellow traveler while en route to Philadelphia, CBS News reported. The passenger was “trying to fight everybody,” according to air traffic control audio obtained by the outlet.
“I don’t know … if he’s hallucinating or whatever, but he just bit a passenger and he’s trying to fight everybody,” a pilot told an air traffic controller. “What a day, huh.”
Reports of unruly passenger behavior peaked at 5,973 incidents in 2021, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, and have dropped more than 80% since then — though the FAA has flagged a recent uptick in incidents.
“Incidents where airline passengers have disrupted flights with threatening or violent behavior are an ongoing problem,” the agency says on its website, citing its “zero-tolerance policy for unruly passenger behavior.”
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