'Violent' passenger duct-taped to seat mid-flight after allegedly shouting racial slur and homophobic comments at air hostess

Flight attendants duct-taped a man into his seat on an American Airlines flight after he was allegedly racist to staff and violent to the people around him.

Chaos erupted on board a 3 September flight from Dallas, Texas, to Newark, New Jersey which had to be diverted to Baltimore due to the onboard incident.

Witnesses told CBS News that trouble started brewing about two hours into the flight, with passenger Juan Mejia saying things flipped 'just like a light switch' and claiming that 'it went from quiet to yelling and chaos'.

Mejia alleged that he looked over and saw a man 'assaulting' the person sat beside him, with his 'hands around his neck', while Richard Olenick claimed that the same passenger 'called one of the flight attendants the N word'.

Both Mejia and Olenick had been sitting a couple of rows in front of the passenger and said they helped flight crews restrain the man, duct-tape him to his seat and zip tie his hands together.

The flight crew duct taped the man into his seat (Instagram/Richard Olenick)

Olenick took a picture of the taped-up passenger who had been stuck into his chair.

Mejia said that the passenger 'fought back' against the duct tape and bit him on the hand, leaving tooth marks on him, adding that they got the man's blood on them and he'd been 'bleeding quite a bit from cuts that he inflicted on himself'.

Neither man said they'd noticed anything unusual about the passenger's behaviour before that point, and cabin crew said they'd only given him one drink.

The passenger spent about 15 minutes restrained in his seat while the flight diverted, with the police and FBI assuming control of the situation once the American Airlines plane had landed.

They arrested the man and removed him from the plane, which was then allowed to continue on its journey and make the final leg of its trip.

The American Airlines flight had to divert so the man could be arrested (Horacio Villalobos#Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

The passenger was charged with disorderly conduct and second-degree assault, and police identified him as 67-year-old Arizona man Arthur Lundeen.

Paramedics treated the man for an open wound on his arm.

American Airlines said in a statement: "On 3 September, American Airlines flight 618 diverted to Baltimore (BWI) due to a disruptive customer.

"Upon arrival, law enforcement met the aircraft and assisted with deplaning the customer before the flight continued to its destination. The safety and security of our customers and team members is our top priority and we do not tolerate violence.

"We thank our team members for their professionalism and our customers for their understanding."

LADbible Group has contacted American Airlines for further comment.