A passenger was duct-taped to his seat on a flight in the United States after allegedly assaulting a fellow passenger and hurling racist and homophobic slurs at a flight attendant.
The passenger, identified as 67-year-old Arthur Lundin, is a resident of Arizona. The incident occurred Friday (Sept. 5) on an American Airlines flight from Texas to Newark, New Jersey.
Witnesses said that about two hours into the flight, Lundin grabbed the throat of a passenger seated next to him. A Black female flight attendant and a former police officer, along with several other passengers, tried to restrain him. He is also accused of hurling racist and homophobic slurs during the struggle.
A video of the incident shows Lundin restrained to his seat with duct tape, his hands bound with zip ties.
Juan Mejia, the former police officer, said everything changed suddenly. Within moments, the calm atmosphere turned into screaming and chaos. “I turned around and saw the man in the next seat had his hand on someone’s throat, attacking them,” he said.
Mejia said that after they intervened, Lundin used “racist slurs, obscene language,” and behaved in an extremely offensive manner toward women as well.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the plane diverted to land at Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) around 10:15 p.m. local time. The FAA is investigating the incident.
Mejia stayed with Lundin until the plane landed in Baltimore. After landing, law enforcement officers boarded the plane and took him into custody.
Police said Lundin has been charged with disorderly conduct and second-degree assault over the incident that occurred aboard the plane at BWI Airport.
The FBI said it is currently speaking with those involved to determine the facts of the incident. It will then consult with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland on whether federal charges will be filed.
There have been previous incidents in the U.S. of passengers being restrained with duct tape on flights. In 2024, a passenger on a flight from Milwaukee to Dallas tried to force open the plane’s door and injured a flight attendant. He too was restrained to his seat with duct tape.
According to the FAA, more than 1,160 unruly-passenger incidents have been reported so far this year. If a passenger “assaults, threatens, intimidates or interferes with” crew members, the FAA can impose fines of more than $43,000 in addition to criminal penalties.