American Airlines flight AA 618, bound from Dallas to Newark, was diverted to Baltimore on Thursday night after a disturbance aboard the plane, and a 67-year-old passenger was restrained with duct tape and zip ties before police arrested him after landing.
The passenger was identified as Arthur Lundeen of Arizona. The plane reached Baltimore Washington International Airport around 10:15 p.m., and after the arrest American Airlines said the flight continued on to Newark.
That makes this more than a routine diversion. It was a midflight disruption serious enough to pull a commercial jet off course, bring law enforcement to the gate, and trigger a federal review. The FBI said its investigation is ongoing, and the FAA is also looking into what happened.
Juan Mejia, one of the passengers who stepped in, said the trouble began about three quarters of the way into the flight, when Lundeen started becoming belligerent. Mejia said the man was making derogatory remarks to American Airlines staff and other passengers, including racial slurs, vulgar language and comments he described as very offensive to women. Richard Olenick said Mejia moved immediately, got into the seat next to Lundeen and helped restrain him to keep the situation contained.
Authorities have not spelled out the exact behavior that led to the diversion, even though the accounts from passengers point to more than a simple verbal dispute. What is known is that Lundeen was tied to his seat with duct tape and had his hands bound with zip ties, then was charged with disorderly conduct and second-degree assault for incidents aboard the aircraft at BWI Airport. The Maryland Transportation Authority Police also said he was cleared by paramedics for an open wound on his arm, but they did not explain how that injury happened.
American Airlines said safety and security were its top priority and that it does not tolerate violence. The airline removed Lundeen from the aircraft, and the flight resumed to Newark, but the episode left behind a sharper question than a diversion alone: what exactly happened in the cabin before passengers felt they had no choice but to restrain him themselves?
