A passenger on an American Airlines flight from Dallas to Newark, New Jersey was duct-taped to his seat after allegedly using racial slurs at staff and attacking another passenger, according to witness Michelle Ng-Reyes. The incident occurred on Thursday and the plane was diverted to Baltimore, where the passenger was removed from the plane and taken into custody by the Maryland Transportation Authority Police. No details are provided about the passenger's identity or current status, but the FBI is conducting interviews and may file federal charges. The flight, which was originally scheduled to land in Newark 3.5 hours after takeoff, was delayed for roughly five hours due to the diversion.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event.
Claims extracted
16
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
31%
5 of 16 hedged
Leaning
Centre
of the writing, not the subject
Publisher trust
95.3
red-flag proxy, not a credibility rating
Outlets on this story
unclustered
not grouped into a story yet
Narrative spread
1
articles carrying this framing
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning score +0.15 for article 5008 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-09-06
A passenger aboard a Newark, New Jersey-bound American Airlines flight was duct-taped to his seat on Thursday and later arrested after allegedly hurling racial slurs at staff and fighting with another man.
uncertain
passenger → bind → man
The passenger was “thrashing around” in his seat as the flight crew and other passengers tried to restrain him at the rear of the first-class cabin, according to witness Michelle Ng-Reyes.
uncertain
crew → thrash → Reyes
“I think he hurt himself and was bleeding on the seat and apparently was assaulting the man sitting next to him, who was another man dressed in a suit,” Ng-Reyes told NBC New York.
asserted
Reyes → think → suit
“The three men that were holding him down were saying things like, ‘Stop moving, please stop yelling, just sit down.’”
asserted
that → hold → things
A video obtained by TMZ shows the effort to restrain him.
asserted
video → obtain → him
Ng-Reyes, who was seated near an air marshal, said other passengers heard the man direct racially offensive remarks at the man sitting next to him.
asserted
man → seat → him
He also appeared to target his fury at flight attendants who were Black, Ng-Reyes said.
asserted
Reyes → appear → attendants
“They had to physically restrain him ’cause they were worried he might try to go into the cockpit or something, which is obviously pretty scary,” she said.
uncertain
she → have → cockpit
The flight, which originated in Dallas, was diverted to Baltimore, where the passenger was removed from the plane and taken into custody, officials said.
asserted
officials → originate → custody
His name has not been released.
asserted
name → release → ?
He was arrested by the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, according to a statement from the the FBI’s Baltimore field office.
uncertain
He → arrest → office
The agency did not respond to a request for comment on the matter and it’s unclear whether the man remains in custody.
uncertain
man → respond → custody
“The FBI is currently conducting interviews to gather the facts and will consult with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland to determine if federal charges will be filed,” the statement said.
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statement → conduct → Maryland
A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment.
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spokesperson → decline → office
The flight was scheduled to land in Newark 3 1/2 hours after takeoff, Ng-Reyes said, but the diversion and delay stretched the trip to roughly eight hours.
“The safety and security of our customers and team members is our top priority and we do not tolerate violence,” American Airlines said in a statement.
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Airlines → schedule → statement
“We thank our team members for their professionalism and our customers for their understanding.”
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We → thank → understanding
