Passengers aboard an American Airlines flight from Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas to Newark, New Jersey duct taped a grey-haired white man to his first-class seat after he began yelling about Jesus and going to hell and then called a Black flight attendant the n-word and “fa**ot” when the attendant tried to de-escalate the situation.
Video shared by TMZ showed shocked passengers looking on as several men forcibly taped the seemingly drunk man to his seat while telling him to calm down. The man reportedly struck the passenger sitting next to him and then hit their computer before others began restraining him.
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A woman passenger reportedly tried to assist after the man struck the person sitting next to him, but the unruly man pushed her, leading three men to intervene and begin holding and taping him down. Flight attendants handed the men zip ties and duct tape to assist with the restraints.
Pictures showed duct tape binding the passenger’s forehead, chin, chest, and arms to his seat while tape bound his hands and wrists together; flecks of blood appeared on the man’s hands and forearms as a passenger partially sat upon the man to help keep him in place.
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The violent outburst caused the plane to be redirected to Baltimore, Maryland. There, state transportation police arrested the man. The FBI is now investigating to determine whether the man will face federal charges.
In a statement to TMZ, an American Airlines spokesperson said, “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.”
This isn’t the first time an unruly, anti-gay passenger has caused an incident on a commercial flight.
In October 2025, a man aboard a flight from Minneapolis to Newark began shouting about how he was being “gang-chased,” “cooked,” and “radiated” by the LGBTQ+ community, which (he said) caused him to develop cancer. He also repeatedly announced, “The plane is going down!” and “Trump is here,” to his captive audience.
The plane in that incident was redirected to Chicago, Illinois as a precautionary measure. There, legal authorities removed him from the aircraft.
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