An American Airlines passenger was reportedly restrained with duct tape and zip ties after allegedly making racist and anti-gay remarks during a flight.
According to TMZ, the incident involved an American Airlines passenger who allegedly made racist and anti-gay remarks during a flight.
TMZ reports the passenger was restrained with duct tape and zip ties.
Passenger Handed To Authorities After Landing
The passenger was reportedly handed to authorities after the flight landed.
The available reports do not detail whether federal charges will be filed.
The Use Of Restraints In The Incident
The use of duct tape and zip ties to physically restrain a passenger might look extreme. The available reports do not detail the legal basis for the restraint or the contents of American Airlines' emergency cabin kits.
In 2024, passengers and crew on an American Airlines flight from Milwaukee to Dallas-Fort Worth used duct tape to restrain a man after he assaulted a flight attendant and tried to force open a cabin door mid-flight, according to WFAA-TV. In August 2021, flight attendants on a Frontier Airlines flight duct-taped a 22-year-old passenger to his seat after he assaulted crew members, per CNN, and he was arrested on battery charges.
Steep Legal Exposure Beyond State Charges
Assaulting or intimidating a flight crew member to interfere with their duties is a federal felony under 49 U.S.C. § 46504, carrying up to 20 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. House Office of the Law Revision Counsel. Separately, the FAA can impose civil penalties of up to $43,658 per violation against unruly passengers, and a single incident can generate multiple separate fines.
Separate federal cases involving interference with flight crew members are also cited, without further details in the available material.
Since 2021, the FAA has enforced a zero-tolerance policy for unruly passenger behavior.
Part Of A Persistent Pattern In The Skies
Disruptive in-flight incidents have remained a stubborn problem well after pandemic-era numbers subsided. FAA records show 2,096 FAA-reported unruly passenger incidents in 2024 and 1,621 in 2025 — still roughly double pre-2020 levels even though both years are far below the 2021 record of 5,973 reports, according to Simple Flying.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, civil penalties could reach $43,658 per violation.
Similar mid-flight disruptions in recent months have included a Newark flier subdued midair and another unruly passenger on a Dublin-to-Seattle flight. Those cases, along with this latest diversion to BWI, are examples of mid-flight disruptions.
