An outburst on an American Airlines flight from Milwaukee to Dallas-Fort Worth escalated dramatically this week when a passenger attempted to force open the aircraft door at 3,000 feet in the air.
According to safety records and eyewitness accounts, the incident involved an assertive group of fellow travellers who took action by pinning and duct-taping the unruly individiual to prevent further harm during the American Airlines flight 1915, CNN reported.
Flight attendants reported that the disruptive passenger insisted he needed to “exit the aircraft now” before lunging toward the exit door, injuring a flight attendant in the process.
This incident adds to a troubling trend in aviation, with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recording at least 1.854 disruptive behaviour incidents this year alone.
“He was bound and determined, he wanted off that plane,” said Doug McCright, who was the first person to pin the unruly passenger to the ground. “I was bound and determined, he wasn’t getting off that plane.”
The interveners got duct tape from another flight attendant and wrapped the man’s wrists, knees and ankles together to subdue him, then held him for about 30 minutes, according to the report and an account McCright posted online.
After the plane landed safely at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and airport Department of Public Safety agents boarded it, detained the passenger and took him for a mental evaluation, the report said.
The FAA will investigate the incident aboard the Airbus A319, it said in a statement.
“The safety and security of our customers and team members is our top priority and we thank our team members and customers for managing a difficult situation,” American Airlines said in a statement.
The FAA has a zero tolerance policy for unruly passenger behaviour, which surged to a record high in 2021, with nearly 6,000 incidents reported.
Reports have declined significantly since then, but 2023 still saw more than 2,000 incidents, FAA figures showed.
