International
oi-Gaurav Sharma
An American Airlines flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to Newark had to be diverted to Baltimore after one of the passengers allegedly became violent and unruly during the journey, forcing fellow passengers and crew members to restrain him.
American Airlines Flight 618 was en route to Newark on Thursday evening when the passenger reportedly began to cause a disturbance almost two hours after take-off. He is alleged to have started shouting at the passenger sitting beside him making repeated mentions of Jesus and hell.
An American Airlines flight from Dallas to Newark diverted to Baltimore Thursday after a passenger allegedly became violent and unruly, prompting crew and passengers to restrain him with duct tape and zip ties.
A flight attendant was brought to deal with the unruly passenger in an attempt to calm him down but the situation reportedly deteriorated. He is alleged to have hurled a racial slur at the Black flight attendant and made anti-gay remarks before becoming violent.
Authorities and witnesses reported that the man allegedly hit the passenger sitting next to him and shoved a woman who was trying to restrain him. Three male passengers then helped to restrain the man.
One of the passengers, retired law enforcement officer Juan Mejia, described it as a sudden explosion of violence.
“Just like a light switch, all of a sudden, it went from quiet to yelling and chaos,” Mejia told CBS Texas.
A passenger was duct-taped to his seat after allegedly making racist and anti-gay remarks on an American Airlines flight.
According to TMZ, the man allegedly used the N-word toward a Black flight attendant and became violent, hitting another passenger and pushing a woman who… pic.twitter.com/GuqwkeEdoh
— Complex (@Complex) September 4, 2026
It has been reported that the flight attendants provided duct tape and zip ties to the passengers assisting in restraining the man. Videos and photographs taken on board showed several passengers holding the man in his seat with duct tape and zip ties being used to stop him from escaping. Tape was allegedly also placed over his head to keep him in the seat.
The disturbance caused the crew to divert the plane to Baltimore. American Airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that the flight was diverted due to the unruly passenger.
When the aircraft landed at Baltimore airport, the man was detained by law enforcement officers and arrested. His identity has not been released.
The incident caused an unexpected disruption for the passengers on the flight whilst the authorities deal with the situation.
