The incident occurred on an American Airlines flight from Dallas to New Jersey on Thursday, Sept. 3
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NEED TO KNOW
- On Thursday, Sept. 3, an American Airlines flight made an emergency landing after a passenger allegedly shouted slurs and assaulted another traveler
- Passengers and crew restrained the man with duct tape and zip ties until the plane landed safely
- The passenger was arrested and booked on state charges in Baltimore following the incident
An American Airlines passenger was reportedly duct-taped to his first-class seat due to his behavior on a flight to Newark, New Jersey.
American Airlines Flight 618 was traveling from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to Newark Liberty International Airport (NLIA) when the crew encountered a “disruptive customer” about two hours into the flight on Thursday, Sept. 3, CBS News and CNN reported.
The plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI Airport), where the passenger was arrested due to his behavior, the FBI confirmed to the outlets. He has not been identified publicly at this time.
“Upon arrival, law enforcement met the aircraft and assisted with deplaning the customer before the flight continued to its destination,” American Airlines said in a statement, per CBS News. “The safety and security of our customers and team members is our top priority and we do not tolerate violence.”
Credit: Alamy
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During the flight, the male passenger allegedly shouted “racial and homophobic slurs” at crew and other passengers and hit at least two people, CNN reported.
“All of a sudden, it went from quiet to yelling and chaos,” Juan Mejia, who sat two rows in front of the passenger, 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.”
Richard Olenick, who sat in the same row, alleged that the man “called one of the flight attendants the N word.”
Both passengers said they tried to intervene, along with the flight crew, but the man allegedly attacked them. The passenger was eventually restrained by being duct-taped to his seat with zip ties around his hands for 15 minutes as the plane landed, per CBS News and CNN.
“He bit my hand. He didn’t break skin, just left teeth marks on my hand. We were covered in his blood,” Mejia said, per CBS News. “He was bleeding quite a bit from cuts that he inflicted on himself.”
Passengers reported seeing a flight attendant give the man one drink on the flight, the outlet reported. It is unknown if alcohol was a factor in the disruption.
The man was reportedly booked on state charges in Baltimore by the Maryland Transportation Authority Police (MTAP).
“We thank our team members for their professionalism and our customers for their understanding,” said American Airlines, per CBS News.
PEOPLE has reached out to American Airlines, BWI Airport, MTAP, the Federal Aviation Administration and the FBI for comment.
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