An American Airlines flight from Dallas to Newark was diverted to Baltimore after a passenger allegedly shouted racial slurs at a flight attendant, assaulted a seatmate, and had to be restrained with zip ties and duct tape before the plane could land, according to police and multiple news outlets.
How the disturbance unfolded
Flight 618 was proceeding normally when the passenger, identified by Maryland Transportation Authority Police as 67-year-old Arthur Lundeen of Tucson, Arizona, began shouting vulgarities that escalated into racial slurs directed at a flight attendant, according to reporting on the incident. Lundeen then struck the laptop belonging to the passenger seated next to him and grabbed that passenger by the throat.
A flight attendant supplied zip ties to restrain Lundeen’s hands, but he continued to struggle and reportedly bit his own hand and forearm during the confrontation. When the zip ties proved insufficient, passengers used duct tape to secure him to his seat for the remainder of the flight.
Diversion and arrest
The flight landed at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport around 10:15 p.m. Sept. 3 after the crew reported the disturbance. Maryland Transportation Authority Police took Lundeen into custody and charged him with disorderly conduct and second-degree assault for conduct that occurred aboard the aircraft.
Lundeen has been charged but not convicted. He is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
Sources: WJLA, Fox Baltimore, News 12, The Week.
