Unruly passenger restrained with duct tape during US flight
Emmett Lindner
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passenger → restrain → flight
An American Airlines flight was travelling as scheduled on the night of Sept 3 from Texas to New Jersey when a man suddenly began to shout vulgarities and became violent, according to the authorities and the airline.
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man → travel → authorities
That is when two other passengers, relying on cable ties, duct tape and sheer will, restrained the disruptive man until the authorities could board the plane and take him into custody.
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authorities → rely → custody
The flight, which was on its way to Newark from Dallas, was diverted to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
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which → divert → Airport
The Maryland Transportation Authority Police identified the disruptive passenger as Arthur Lundeen, 67.
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Police → identify → Lundeen
Maryland court records said Lundeen, of Tucson, Arizona, waived his right to a lawyer at an initial court appearance on Sept 4 and was released on his own recognisance.
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Lundeen → say → recognisance
Efforts to reach Lundeen on Sept 5 were unsuccessful.
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Efforts → reach → Sept
Richard O’Lenick, 53, one of the passengers who restrained Lundeen, said in a phone interview on Sept 5 that Lundeen began to shout racial slurs at one of the flight attendants.
“He was getting very aggressive and very loud,” O’Lenick said.
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O’Lenick → restrain → attendants
Lundeen then became physical with his seat-mate.
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Lundeen → become → mate
Lundeen struck the laptop of the man next to him, and then grabbed the man’s throat, O’Lenick said.
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O’Lenick → strike → throat
When a woman in a seat ahead of the scuffle tried to intervene, Lundeen started to attack her as well.
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Lundeen → try → her
That was when O’Lenick and Juan Mejia, a colleague at a New Jersey shooting range, jumped into action from their seats two rows ahead.
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O’Lenick → jump → seats
O’Lenick, who tried to keep Lundeen’s legs down, said Mejia proceeded to “sit next to the guy to try to control the situation”.
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Mejia → try → situation
It was not immediately clear what precipitated the violent outburst.
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what → precipitate → outburst
A flight attendant rushed over with cable ties, but even with his hands restrained, Lundeen continued to fight.
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Lundeen → rush → ties
“I started trying to tell him to relax, we don’t want to hurt you, we just want you to settle down,” O’Lenick said.
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O’Lenick → start → you
Mejia, who could not be immediately reached on Sept 5, is a sales manager at the company and a retired police officer from New Jersey.
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who → reach → Jersey
The self-defence training both men have practised was vital for the next 10 minutes, as Lundeen violently struggled, screamed that the plane was going down and bit Mejia on his hand, O’Lenick said.
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O’Lenick → practise → hand
That was when a flight attendant brought duct tape, which Mejia wrapped around Lundeen’s body and seat, restraining his head as well.
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Mejia → bring → head
“The entire time the flight attendants were present,” O’Lenick said.
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O’Lenick → say → ?
“They were advising throughout the process.
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They → advise → process
The plane landed in Baltimore shortly after 10pmm where the local authorities boarded the aircraft and removed Lundeen, who was charged with two misdemeanours, assault in the second degree and disorderly conduct, according to court records.
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who → land → records
In a statement, American Airlines confirmed the episode.
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Airlines → confirm → episode
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was investigating, the agency said in a statement.
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agency → investigate → statement
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it was also investigating.
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it → say → Investigation
That is far fewer than when such episodes peaked in 2021 during the early part of the Covid-19 pandemic, when 5,973 such cases were reported.
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cases → peak → pandemic
In 2021, a passenger on an American Airlines flight who kicked and spat at flight attendants and passengers before attempting to open the cabin door was also restrained with duct tape.
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who → kick → tape
During the scuffle on the Sept 3 flight, Lundeen had somehow cut himself.
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Lundeen → cut → himself
After the flight landed in Baltimore, a cleaning crew came on board for an hour to sanitise the area, O’Lenick said.
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O’Lenick → land → area
The Maryland Transportation Authority Police said Lundeen “was cleared by paramedics for an open wound on his arm”.
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Lundeen → say → arm
O’Lenick said that once the adrenaline began to fade, he noticed that his trousers were covered in blood.
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trousers → say → blood
He changed into a pair from his luggage.
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He → change → luggage
Neither O’Lenick nor Mejia sought medical treatment.
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O’Lenick → seek → treatment
After the diverted landing in Baltimore, the flight took off and landed in Newark without incident, O’Lenick said.
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O’Lenick → divert → incident
O’Lenick said that neither he nor Mejia received complimentary drinks after they restrained Lundeen, but they did receive much appreciation from their fellow passengers and members of the crew.
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they → say → crew
That, he said, was enough.
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he → say → ?
“I feel bad for the guy,” O’Lenick said.
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O’Lenick → feel → guy
“I don’t know what he was going through.
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he → know → what
What we do know is that he was getting physical with his actions, and we didn’t know where he was going to stop.”
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he → know → actions
He added: “We were just there to help.”
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We → add → ?
…and 1 more, not listed.
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