Passengers and crew on American Airlines flight 618 restrained a disruptive first-class passenger with duct tape and zip ties after the Boeing aircraft diverted from Dallas-Fort Worth to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport on 4 September. The flight had been bound for Newark Liberty International Airport when the disturbance escalated, prompting the diversion and an on-arrival police response.
The aircraft landed in Baltimore around 10:15 p.m. local time before the man was taken into custody. Maryland Transportation Authority Police identified him as 67-year-old Arthur Lundeen of Arizona and charged him with disorderly conduct and second-degree assault. The FBI is also investigating the incident.
American Airlines later confirmed the diversion and the law-enforcement response, and the flight continued to Newark after the customer was removed. Witness accounts described the passenger as belligerent and physical, with reports of racist and anti-gay slurs before he was restrained. Such in-cabin disturbances remain rare but can force crews to improvise containment measures until police meet the aircraft.