A passenger aboard a Newark, New Jersey-bound American Airlines flight was duct-taped to his seat on Thursday and later arrested after allegedly hurling racial slurs at staff and fighting with another man.
The passenger was “thrashing around” in his seat as the flight crew and other passengers tried to restrain him at the rear of the first-class cabin, according to witness Michelle Ng-Reyes.
“I think he hurt himself and was bleeding on the seat and apparently was assaulting the man sitting next to him, who was another man dressed in a suit,” Ng-Reyes told NBC New York. “The three men that were holding him down were saying things like, ‘Stop moving, please stop yelling, just sit down.’”
A video obtained by TMZ shows the effort to restrain him.
Ng-Reyes, who was seated near an air marshal, said other passengers heard the man direct racially offensive remarks at the man sitting next to him.
He also appeared to target his fury at flight attendants who were Black, Ng-Reyes said.
“They had to physically restrain him ’cause they were worried he might try to go into the cockpit or something, which is obviously pretty scary,” she said.
The flight, which originated in Dallas, was diverted to Baltimore, where the passenger was removed from the plane and taken into custody, officials said. His name has not been released.
He was arrested by the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, according to a statement from the the FBI’s Baltimore field office. The agency did not respond to a request for comment on the matter and it’s unclear whether the man remains in custody.
“The FBI is currently conducting interviews to gather the facts and will consult with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland to determine if federal charges will be filed,” the statement said. A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment.
The flight was scheduled to land in Newark 3 1/2 hours after takeoff, Ng-Reyes said, but the diversion and delay stretched the trip to roughly eight hours.
“The safety and security of our customers and team members is our top priority and we do not tolerate violence,” American Airlines said in a statement. “We thank our team members for their professionalism and our customers for their understanding.”
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