An American Airlines flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to Newark was diverted to Baltimore on Thursday night after a passenger allegedly launched into a drunken tirade, used racial and anti-gay slurs, assaulted the person next to him, and had to be strapped into his seat with duct tape and zip ties handed out by the crew.
Witnesses told TMZ the man appeared to be drunk and began yelling at the passenger beside him about Jesus and going to hell.
When a Black flight attendant tried to calm him, he allegedly called her a racial slur and used an anti-gay slur.
The confrontation turned physical.
Witnesses said he hit the man next to him, struck that passenger’s laptop, and pushed a woman who tried to intervene.
Three male passengers then stepped in.
Flight attendants gave them duct tape and zip ties.
They bound the man to his seat around the torso, hands, and head.
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A passenger was duct-taped to his seat after allegedly making racist and anti-gay remarks on an American Airlines flight.
According to TMZ, the man allegedly used the N-word toward a Black flight attendant and became violent, hitting another passenger and pushing a woman who… pic.twitter.com/GuqwkeEdoh
— Complex (@Complex) September 4, 2026
The cockpit diverted to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and landed about 15 minutes later.
The FBI said Maryland Transportation Authority Police arrested and booked him on state charges.
Two passengers who helped duct-tape him down spoke to CBS.
Juan Mejia, a retired law enforcement officer, and Richard Olenick said they were sitting two rows ahead and that the cabin went from quiet to chaos about two hours into the flight.
“Just like a light switch, all of a sudden, it went from quiet to yelling and chaos,” Mejia told the station. “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.”
“He called one of the flight attendants the N word,” Olenick added.
“Everyone who was in first class was basically victimized by his spewing of hatred and the discrimination, and the hostility, and vulgarness that was coming out of his mouth,” Mejia said.
The passenger, who has not been publicly identified, did not get duct-taped down without a fight.
“He bit my hand. He didn’t break skin, just left teeth marks on my hand. We were covered in his blood,” Mejia said. “He was bleeding quite a bit from cuts that he inflicted on himself.”
View from the Wing reports:
“The passenger is reportedly 67 years old. Police found two men still holding him at Gate C3. Officers handcuffed him and removed the tape and zip ties. They report he then struck an officer in the chest.
The man was charged with second-degree assault and disorderly conduct and released on his own recognizance Friday. His state trial is scheduled for October 19.”
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