![[Not the Onion] Mid-flight - racist hatemonger duct taped to seat. [text inside]](https://hexbear.net/pictrs/image/e97b8dbe-6628-461c-b4d8-484e89ca6add.jpeg){kind=link}
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A disruptive passenger on an American Airlines flight Thursday night who was reportedly screaming racial and anti-gay slurs at a flight attendant ended up getting bound to his seat with duct tape, according to TMZ. TMZ obtained video and photos of the incident, which happened on a flight from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to Newark Liberty International Airport. It all started when the man, who witnesses say appeared drunk, allegedly started yelling at a male passenger seated next to him.
The man was screaming about Jesus and going to hell, according to TMZ sources, which prompted a Black flight attendant to walk over to try and deescalate the situation. That’s when the man allegedly hurled a racial slur and anti-gay remarks at the flight attendant. Witnesses said his behavior became so intense and violent that he hit the passenger next to him and struck his computer.
That’s when flight attendants handed duct tape and zip ties to several male passengers, who used the items to restrain the unruly passenger, according to TMZ. Video obtained by TMZ shows the crew and other passengers restraining the man in his seat after he witnesses said he tried to put up a fight. Photos show the man completely wrapped up in the tape, including his head and hands.
The flight was diverted to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport due to the incident, the FAA confirms. Law enforcement met the plane at the gate and took the man into custody, American Airlines confirmed. A spokesperson tells the publication that the Maryland Transportation Police arrested and booked the man on state charges, and the FBI is consulting with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland to determine if federal charges will be filed.
A spokesperson for American Airlines told TMZ, “On Sept. 3, American Airlines flight 618 diverted to Baltimore (BWI) due to a disruptive customer. Upon arrival, 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.”
https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/unruly-passenger-bound-with-duct-tape-mid-flight/
For me - the video embed at the link and the TMZ link are both 403 - https://www.tmz.com/2026/09/04/man-gets-duct-taped-on-american-airlines-flight/
What is the yellow thing on his hands?
They might be handcuff style zipties
A seatbelt extender, they’re very thick fabric so I assume they tied his hands with it then reinforced the binding with Ducktape(Not a misspelling Ducktape was the name for it a decade before Duct-tape came into use)
I thought it was a mini car steering wheel lock being used as improvised handcuffs to begin with lol was thinking who has one of those in their carry on
It’s complicated actually. “Duck tape” was a thing for a lot longer than just a decade before “duct tape,” more like centuries. But that was actually strips of linen without much physical resemblance to the modern thing and likely no real etymological connection. The silvery-grey-backed sticky tape really was probably originally called “duct tape” but due to its sound, got referred to as “duck tape.” It’s a strange onion to peel.
https://grammarphobia.com/blog/2010/03/why-a-duct.html
The fabric isn’t wide enough to be a seatbelt extender, doesn’t have metal belt clips, the right polyester weave, or in a color used in the NA market. Ryanair is the right color, but they don’t operate here.
It’s a tri-fold disposable restraint from ASP, marketed under the name FlexCuff. They’re pretty common in aviation. Here’s the exact one.
You could well be right, but imo some of the black bits look they could be clips, and seem to have too much rigidity to it to be a strap pulled off a bag
And for safety demonstrations has far as I can tell AA do use yellow ones, and the most common third-party passenger owned ones are yellow apparently
Kept checking and actually found the exact model of plastic handcuffs it is.
Good work, have a linky? seems a bit more involved that the standard zip-ties
https://www.asp-usa.com/collections/tri-fold-restraints
ASP is one of the big names in law enforcement equipment. I had one of their collapsible batons at one point. They’re expensive and kinda flashy and scary but also easy to clean unlike fake ones, which is very important for if you’re consensually hurting people or pretending to.