Man arrested after disrupting American Airlines flight and prompting emergency landing
A 67-year-old passenger was detained by Maryland police after a video showed him shouting vulgar insults and being restrained on an American Airlines flight that made an unscheduled landing in Baltimore.
A video that emerged shows Arthur Layne Lundeen, 67, being duct-taped and zip-tied to his seat on American Airlines flight 618 from Dallas to Newark on Sept. 3. The footage captures Lundeen repeatedly shouting a vulgar comment about another passenger’s anatomy and using racial and anti-gay slurs, including an insult directed at a flight attendant.
According to police reports, the disturbance forced the aircraft to divert to Baltimore, where Maryland Transportation Police arrested Lundeen. He was later charged with second-degree assault and disorderly conduct. Lundeen, a Tucson realtor, has been terminated from his employment following the incident.
"You have a little tiny d-k," Lundeen is heard saying repeatedly before the audio trails off.
Authorities said the passenger’s behavior required crew members to restrain him, and the emergency landing was deemed necessary for safety.