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US man duct-taped to seat after attacking passenger mid-flight, racial abuse

Read the original at Times of India ↗
Cite

Pandey, P. (2026, September 5). US man duct-taped to seat after attacking passenger mid-flight, racial abuse. Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/us-man-duct-taped-to-seat-after-attacking-passenger-mid-flight-hurling-racial-abuse/articleshow/133785615.cms

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Times of India · collected 2026-09-05 · by Pranjal Pandey

Quick Summary

A man allegedly attacked another passenger on an American Airlines flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to Newark, causing a diversion in Baltimore, where he was removed by law enforcement. No specific details are provided about the attacker's identity or motive. The incident occurred two hours into the flight, with multiple passengers intervening to restrain him using zip ties and duct tape. Witnesses alleged that the passenger made racial slurs and homophobic remarks against a flight attendant before becoming violent.
Written by AI on 2026-09-05, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Arthur Lundeen, a 67-year-old man from Tucson, Arizona, was restrained with duct tape to his seat on an American Airlines flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to Newark after he allegedly became violent and hurled racial slurs at a flight attendant. The incident occurred about two hours into the flight, which was diverted to Baltimore due to Lundeen's behavior. Witnesses, including Juan Mejia, a retired law enforcement officer, and Richard Olenick, restrained Lundeen with zip ties and duct tape until authorities could board the plane and take him into custody. Lundeen was later released on his own recognizance after waiving his right to an attorney in court. He was subsequently fired from his job as a real estate agent at Long Realty in Tucson, citing the company's zero-tolerance policy for such behavior.

Written for “Passenger Incident on Flight” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 4 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Passenger Incident on Flight
Crime & Law · 5 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 38% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Man duct-taped to plane seat after hurling slurs and attacking other passenger, witness says Same event
NBC News
⚖️ Centre Hedges 5 of 16 claims Outlet record 78/100
American Airlines passenger duct-taped to seat after mid-flight outburst Same event
CBS News
Hedges 1 of 16 claims Outlet record 65/100
Unruly passenger restrained with duct tape during US flight Same event
The Straits Times
Hedges 4 of 41 claims Outlet record 66/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
8
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
38%
3 of 8 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
59/100
Times of India's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
5
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-05 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Times of India · 4121 article(s) · 4 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 4 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Pranjal Pandey
48 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
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Also by Pranjal Pandey
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 48 articles by Pranjal Pandey →

Topics

American Airlines Baltimore CBS News Dallas-Fort Worth Newark

Subjects

Baltimore ORG · 3× Newark GPE · 2× American Airlines ORG · 1× CBS News ORG · 1× Dallas-Fort Worth GPE · 1× Juan Mejia PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Witnesses also alleged that the passenger hurled a racial slur and homophobic remarks at a flight attendant when she attempted to calm the situation.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-05
2026-09-05 · Times of India
US man duct-taped to seat after attacking passenger mid-flight, racial abuse · mixed framing

Claims (8 extracted, 3 hedged)

An allegedly disruptive passenger was duct-taped to a passenger seat on an American Airlines flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to Newark that made an unexpected stop in Baltimore late Thursday. uncertain
that → tap → Baltimore
A photo shared by one of the passengers showed the man had multiple loops of tape around his wrists, torso and head. asserted
man → share → wrists
About two hours into the flight, witnesses told CBS News how the situation suddenly escalated, with the passenger allegedly yelling and attacking the man seated next to him by grabbing his neck. uncertain
passenger → tell → neck
Two passengers, including retired law enforcement officer Juan Mejia, intervened to restrain him. asserted
passengers → include → him
With the help of a flight attendant, they used zip ties and duct tape to secure the passenger to his seat. asserted
they → use → seat
Witnesses also alleged that the passenger hurled a racial slur and homophobic remarks at a flight attendant when she attempted to calm the situation. asserted
she → allege → situation
He later became violent, prompting the crew to restrain him and divert the flight to Baltimore. asserted
He → become → Baltimore
In Baltimore, he was reportedly removed by law enforcement, after which the flight continued to Newark. uncertain
flight → remove → Newark
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