A group of passengers on board an American Airlines flight restrained and tied up a passenger with duct tape after he allegedly tried to open an aircraft door mid-flight.
The incident happened on American Airlines flight 1915 from Milwaukee to Dallas-Fort Worth.
The foreign passenger went up to a flight attendant in the front galley of the aircraft and made a comment about “needing to exit the aircraft now,” according to a Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport Department of Public Safety report.
The flight attendant told authorities the passenger’s voice got louder and he became more agitated. She made a call to the rear flight attendant to request more people in the front and also made a hand gesture to passengers near her indicating she needed assistance.
She then placed herself between the left, first entry door on the aircraft and the passenger, and he rushed towards her and the door. He jumped on top of her in his effort to access the cabin door, injuring her left wrist and neck, the report said.
One of the passengers, Doug McCright, bear hugged the unruly passenger in an attempt to pull him off of her. Passenger Charlie Boris also jumped into help.
Boris sprung into action by pinning the man’s legs down with pressure and he said duct tape was used to subdue the male foreigner.
When the plane landed at Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport, officers said they arrived to find “a male passenger on board who was secured and restrained with tape.”
The passenger was seen lying on his stomach with his hands behind his back bound as well as his ankles with duct tape, the report said.
The passenger was transported for evaluation. The investigation is ongoing.
American Airlines said that the restraint tape used in the incident is included in an onboard kit as a safety measure.