A 67-year-old Arizona man is facing state charges after passengers say he launched into a racist and anti-LGBT tirade, bit two fellow travelers and struck another aboard an American Airlines flight Thursday night, forcing the crew to divert to Baltimore so police could take him off the plane.
American Airlines Flight 618 was roughly two hours into its route from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to Newark Liberty International Airport on September 3 when the disturbance began, according to passengers who spoke to reporters. Witness Juan Mejia, a retired law enforcement officer seated near the man, described the shift as sudden. “Just like a light switch, all of a sudden, it went from quiet to yelling and chaos,” Mejia said. Another passenger, Richard Olenick, said the man directed a racial slur at a flight attendant.
Zip ties, then duct tape
Passengers said the man, identified by police as Arthur Lundeen, first struck a passenger seated next to him and then hit a woman who tried to intervene. When he began biting people — Mejia said he was bitten, though the skin did not break, and the man allegedly tried to bite a third passenger — other travelers decided physical restraint was necessary. They first attempted to hold him with zip ties supplied by the crew, but according to passenger accounts the zip ties weren’t enough to keep him contained. A flight attendant then supplied duct tape, and passengers wrapped it around Lundeen’s torso and secured him to his seat in first class, reportedly keeping the tape clear of his mouth so he could continue breathing. The restraint held for about fifteen minutes before the flight diverted.
Mejia said everyone in first class was “victimized by his spewing of hatred and discrimination,” and both men who helped restrain Lundeen credited the flight crew with staying composed through the ordeal despite being targeted with insults themselves.
Diversion, arrest and an FBI review
The flight’s pilots diverted to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, where the plane was met by Maryland Transportation Authority Police. Officers arrested Lundeen after the aircraft landed and he was taken into custody; the flight is reported to have continued on to Newark afterward. He faces state charges of second-degree assault and disorderly conduct, according to police, and was later released on his own recognizance ahead of a scheduled trial next month.
Because the alleged assault occurred in flight, the FBI’s Baltimore field office is also reviewing the incident alongside the U.S. Attorney’s Office to determine whether federal charges are warranted, a standard step when violence occurs aboard a commercial aircraft. American Airlines confirmed the diversion and said restraining a passenger who poses a safety threat, using whatever materials are on hand, is consistent with crew training when a situation escalates beyond what verbal warnings can control.
The charges against Lundeen remain accusations, and he has not yet stood trial. Video and photos of the restrained man circulating online, which several outlets reviewed, show him bound with duct tape from his shoulders down while surrounded by passengers and crew, though neither American Airlines nor investigators have released an official statement detailing everything captured on the footage.
Sources: CNN · CBS News Texas · CBS New York · The Week · TMZ
