A “violent” air passenger was duct-taped to his seat on a US flight after allegedly attacking another traveller and racially abusing a flight attendant.
Arthur Lundeen, 67, of Arizona, allegedly began choking the person next to him two hours into an American Airlines flight between Texas and Newark, New Jersey,
this week, witnesses claimed.
He hurled “racial slurs” and “homophobic” abuse after a black air hostess and passengers, including a former police officer, were forced to restrain him.
Footage showed Lundeen taped to his seat with his arms zip-tied as a passenger sat on top of him.
Juan Mejia, the former police officer, told CBS: “Just like a light switch, all of a sudden, it went from quiet to yelling and chaos.
“I turned around to look, and the poor gentleman that was sitting next to him in the aisle seat, the individual had his hands around his neck and was, like, assaulting him.”
Mejia said Lundeen had used “racial slurs, vulgar language, and was very offensive to women” after he and others had intervened.
The plane was diverted to Baltimore Washington International (BWI) Airport about 10.15pm Friday local time, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said. The FAA said it was investigating the incident.
Mejia stayed with Lundeen until the plane had landed in Baltimore, where officers boarded and took him into custody.
Lundeen was charged with disorderly conduct and second-degree assault “for incidents that occurred aboard the aircraft at BWI Airport”, police said.
“We weren’t looking to hurt this individual, we were looking more to restrain him and control him, so it didn’t escalate to go any further,” Mejia said.
An American Airlines spokesman said: “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 FBI said: “The FBI is currently conducting interviews to gather the facts and will consult with the US attorney’s office for the District of Maryland to determine if federal charges will be filed.”
In 2024, a passenger who tried to force open a door and injured a flight attendant while flying from Milwaukee to Dallas was duct-taped to his seat.
There have been more than 1160 unruly passenger incidents reported so far this year, according to the FAA.
