![[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/
Remember in and around 2020/1 when it felt like people didn’t know how to act in public anymore? Did we just normalize that?
I remember there was a bit of pushback at the time. I saw an elderly Walmart employee handing out masks and taking temperatures at the entrance. Some chud refused to have his temperature taken or put on a mask, and he shoved the old man to the ground then tried to run into the store.
He ran head first into the turned-off sliding doors and another employee repeatedly set him straight with a Wiffle bat until he eventually stopped getting back up and trying to enter the store. Bunch of people in line kept kicking him until he eventually picked up his maga hat and left.
I think this is where we went wrong. Every service employee should have the unilateral right to violently bounce someone for being an asshole, and everyone around them should help.
That’s too good of a story to be real.
I’m tempted to ask if everyone clapped afterwards, it’s way too amazing.
It was the high point of me getting stuck in Austin, TX during the pandemic. They didn’t shut down anything, I just personally got financially fucked over at a really inconvenient time.
Holy shit yes
I agree with this entirely, and “the customer is always right” is perhaps the most insidious and deceptive 5 words of propaganda, not least because it originated with the ending “…in matters of taste” lololol
I extend this to parenting, meaning I will sometimes be mean to someone’s kid when that is called for, and I also think we all went wrong by not doing that for one another in a general sense.
spoiler
Folks are not always fans of this approach, and that’s putting things tidily. But if you have good instincts and a situation calls them up, use em! And instantly, not after thinking it over or consulting. Sounds wrong but it’s the only right way - if you can still remember being a kid, younger you are, faster every context shifts. Trust that gut if a little shit is fucking it up for everyone else, but sometimes the parent is in the room / McDombles PlayGross / on the field / etc. 😅
Service workers should get service weapons. It’s in the name
I really hope the elderly dude is okay
Hell yeah! Is there a vid of this?
Nah, I probably could have recorded it but I was kind of busy making sure the old guy was okay and he was!
The right-wing certainly normalized being openly hateful, racist, intolerant etc in public.
Started with “It’s just a joke, can we not joke about things any more?”, and then became “You can’t hit me for saying things you don’t like!”
could be brain damage, which gets worse with age. pretty sure my stepsisters brain damage from a car accident 20 years ago is taking it’s toll on her now.
It really is shocking how that shit can haunt a person for the rest of their life. It can seem like there’s no issue for years (or decades) only to suddenly crop up again as if the initial injury just happened.