An American Airlines passenger found himself in a sticky situation while traveling first-class on a flight from Dallas to Newark.
Because, of course, he had to be flying from Dallas.
The man reportedly burst out in an expletive-laden, racially insensitive, gay-unfriendly rant on board the flight, then found himself duct-taped to his seat for being a “first class a-hole.”
According to the reports, the drunk guy seems to have acted like such a complete jackass that they had to divert the flight.
A passenger went totally berserk on an American Airlines flight Thursday night -- screaming racial and anti-gay slurs -- and ended up getting duct-taped to his seat to restrain his behavior ... TMZ has learned.
TMZ obtained video and photos of the wild incident, which took place on an AA flight from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to Newark Liberty International Airport. However, the plane got diverted to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
Maybe the guy needs a different kind of AA: Not American Airlines, but Alcoholics Anonymous.
TMZ grabbed some photos of the inebriated man being restrained with what was apparently some duct tape in an emergency repair kit.
Who was the plane’s security guard? MacGyver?
Anyway, TMZ reports that three flight attendants restrained him after he got violent.
This is the rest-of-the-story if you’re looking for information past the “racist guy got strapped to a seat” headlines.
The Daily Mail identified the suspected passenger as Arthur Lundeen, a 67-year-old man from Arizona. The publication gave more on what happened.
Lundeen also allegedly hit his seatmate and smashed his computer.
American Airlines told the Daily Mail the flight was diverted due to a 'disruptive customer.'
Lundeen was deplaned and the flight then continued on to Newark.
There was a retired police officer on the flight, Juan Mejia, who said what he witnessed to CBS News.
"Just like a light switch, all of a sudden, it went from quiet to yelling and chaos," he said.
"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." he added.
He was taken into custody on state charges, and federal charges could also be filed by the FBI, according to TMZ.
Unsurprisingly, the man being strapped to his first-class seat provoked some reactions.
Should probably add that "he got violent" to your post.
— N TEXAS SHEEPDOG (@TheViciousSnake) September 4, 2026
Cause based on the text, it sounds like they duct taped & restrained to his chair for this dude for words.
Yet his mouth is not taped.
He was attacking people.
@Baby_Sniffer_ pic.twitter.com/2IjGzTmk7R
— Meme Asylum ➰🕷️🍑🌸 (@MemeAsylum) September 4, 2026
— ＮＩＣＯ | 宇宙猫 🌸 (@glock_nico) September 4, 2026
lol. We used to do this in college for more or less the same reasons 🤷😂 pic.twitter.com/cfOitBMyke
— Death (@GrimReapingPro) September 5, 2026
— Stock Monkey (@Gamma_Monkey) September 5, 2026
Duct-tape can fix a lot of problems — including drunk a-holes ruining people’s flights, it turns out.
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