Tuesday, September 8, 2026 -An Arizona real estate executive has been fired from his position after an alleged mid-flight outburst involving racist and homophobic slurs led to him being duct-taped and zip-tied to his seat on a commercial flight.
Arthur Layne Lundeen, 67, of Tucson, was terminated from his
role as a vice president at Long Realty following the incident aboard American
Airlines Flight 618 from Dallas to Newark. The flight was forced to make an
emergency diversion to Baltimore after Lundeen engaged in an obscene outburst,
during which he hurled racial slurs at a flight attendant and shouted
homophobic insults at surrounding passengers.
Following the public revelation of the disruption, the real
estate firm severed ties with Lundeen and scrubbed his executive profile from
its company website and professional networks.
The incident unfolded when fellow passengers intervened to
subdue Lundeen after he became increasingly belligerent toward crew members and
nearby travelers. Former law enforcement officer Juan Mejia and his friend,
Richard Olenick, restrained Lundeen in his seat using duct tape and zip ties to
prevent further escalation until the aircraft could safely land.
Video footage from inside the cabin showed Lundeen bound to
his seat across his torso, head, and hands.
American Airlines confirmed that the flight landed in
Baltimore due to a disruptive customer, where local authorities met the plane
and escorted Lundeen off the aircraft before the flight continued to its
destination.
The FBI confirmed that Lundeen was taken into custody by the
Maryland Transportation Police and subsequently charged at the state level with
second-degree assault and disorderly conduct.
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