- A man was duct-taped to his seat on an American Airlines flight after going on an alleged alcohol-fueled racist and homophobic tirade that caused the aircraft to divert.
Arthur Lundeen, 67, of Arizona, allegedly had to be zip-tied and duct-taped to his seat on Flight 618 from Dallas, Texas, to Newark, New Jersey, TMZ reported.
Lundeen, who passengers said appeared to be drunk, began yelling at the male passenger seated next to him at around 10pm, when the flight was 75 percent through its journey.
The 67-year-old was allegedly going on a tirade about Jesus and going to hell, which caused a flight attendant to come over to see what the commotion was, sources told TMZ.
Lundeen, who was sitting in first class, then allegedly called the black flight attendant the N-word and made homophobic comments, the outlet said.
A female passenger allegedly attempted to help, but the unruly passenger reportedly pushed her, causing three male passengers to get up.
Lundeen then allegedly bit one male passenger and attempted to bite another.
'Just like a light switch, all of a sudden, it went from quiet to yelling and chaos,' Juan Mejia, a retired police officer who was on the flight, told CBS News.
'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 and Richard Olenick, who were both sitting two rows in front of Lundeen, jumped up to help.
A flight attendant handed the men duct tape, and they reportedly tied him up, wrapping the gray adhesive around his wrists, head, and body to secure him to the seat.
Lundeen allegedly tried to get out of his restraints and the male passengers held him down.
Flight 618 was diverted to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, landing 15 minutes later.
Lundeen was taken into custody on state charges, and federal charges could also be filed by the FBI, according to TMZ.
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