A woman was restrained to her seat on an American Airlines flight last week after allegedly trying to open the plane’s doors and attacking a flight attendant.
American Airlines flight 1774 was en route from Dallas-Fort Worth to Charlotte, North Carolina on July 6 when a traveler “attempted to open the forward boarding door” and “physically assaulted, bit and caused injury to a flight attendant,” American Airlines confirmed to USA TODAY.
The passenger was restrained with “flex cuffs and restraint tape” until the plane landed at Charlotte Douglas International Airport “for the safety and security of other customers and our crew,” the airline said. The flight had 190 customers and six crew members on board.
The passenger was taken to a hospital by emergency personnel.
Elizabeth LaClair, a passenger on the flight, told The Washington Post that the woman “just seemed off and very odd” and that she said she did not want the plane “to fly up anymore.”
“She started getting more and more agitated and very loud, and the man sitting next to her, along with the flight attendants, kindly tried to console her and calm her, but nothing worked,” LaClair said.
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LeClair told The Post that the woman continued to yell obscenities after she was restrained.
A video shared on TikTok also appears to show the woman after she was restrained. She can be seen repeatedly yelling “you” at other passengers as they exited the plane.
This is not the first case of a passenger disrupting a flight this year, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The FAA said last week that it has received more than 3,200 reports of unruly behavior by passengers in 2021, including 2,475 cases of travelers refusing to comply with the federal mask mandate for air travel.
The FAA has sought more than $682,000 in fines against unruly passengers this year.
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