Man is handcuffed and tied with tape after swearing at flight attendant on US flight

A man who began shouting racist and homophobic insults at a flight attendant during a flight in the United States ended up handcuffed and tied with tape to his seat this Thursday (3), according to local authorities.

The passenger on the American Airlines flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Dallas, Texas, was identified by The New York Times as Arthur Lundeen, 67 years old. After shouting the insults, Lundeen began attacking the person sitting next to him, grabbing him by the throat.

At that moment, he was immobilized by two other travelers and tied to his seat until the police could remove him from the plane, which had to make an emergency landing at Baltimore airport. According to police, he received medical attention for a cut he suffered during the chaos. He was then booked, charged with the crimes of assault and disturbing the peace, and released.

It is unclear what caused Lundeen's violent outburst. The two passengers who immobilized him were Richard O'Lenick, a businessman who owned a shooting range in New Jersey, and Juan Mejia, his employee and former police officer.

According to O'Lenick, Lundeen remained aggressive even after being handcuffed with a plastic cable tie brought by a flight attendant. The businessman and Mejia restrained him for 10 minutes until the crew brought a roll of duct tape capable of completely immobilizing Lundeen. In the meantime, the enraged passenger bit the former police officer's hand.