An American Airlines flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to Newark descended into chaos Thursday night when a passenger launched into a drunken tirade that ended with him duct-taped to his seat and the plane diverted to Baltimore.
The trouble began when the man, who witnesses say appeared drunk, started yelling at the passenger seated next to him, screaming about Jesus and going to hell.
When a Black male flight attendant approached to de-escalate the situation, the passenger directed racial slurs, including the N-word, and anti-gay remarks at the crew member.
The man then became violent, hitting the passenger next to him. A female passenger jumped in to help, but the man pushed her, leading to three other male passengers stepping in.
American Airlines passenger duct-taped to seat, plane diverted after mid-flight outburst. https://t.co/5sJoMz1i2T
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 4, 2026
Retired law enforcement officer Juan Mejia, one of those men, told CBS Texas: “Just like a light switch, all of a sudden, it went from quiet to yelling and chaos. I turned around to look, and the poor gentleman that was sitting next to him in the aisle seat, the individual had his hands around his neck and was, like, assaulting him.”
Flight attendants handed duct tape and zip ties to the three male passengers, who used the items to restrain the unruly man to his seat — binding him around the torso, hands, and head — as he tried to fight his way free.
Related: ‘Duct Taped Passenger’ Gets 60 Days In Jail For Assault
American Airlines confirmed that Flight 618 was diverted to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, where law enforcement met the aircraft and assisted with deplaning the passenger before the flight continued to its destination.
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