Rowdy passenger duct-taped to airplane seat does not recall incident, said he was drinking

An Arizona man who was duct-taped to his seat and restrained with zip ties after becoming unruly during an American Airlines flight in early September said that he downed a pair of alcoholic drinks and did not recall the incident, according to audio from his court appearance the next day.

According to the Maryland Transportation Police, Layne Arthur Lundeen, 67, of Tucson, was arrested when a plane headed to Newark was forced to land in Baltimore on Sept. 3, The New York Times reported. Lundeen allegedly assaulted a passenger and shouted racial slurs at one of the flight attendants.

During his initial appearance on Sept. 4 in Annapolis, Lundeen, who was charged with second-degree assault and disorderly conduct, told the court that he drank two screwdrivers and does not remember what happened, WJZ reported.

Advised of the charges against him by District Court Commissioner George Haag, Lundeen, a real estate agent, appeared to be confused, according to a tape of the hearing that was obtained by the Baltimore Banner.

“I assaulted a police officer? Is that what it says?” Lundeen said, according to the audio. “I don’t have my glasses.”

Haag then read the accusations to him. “Oh, my God. What a mess,” Lundeen said. “I don’t remember any of it.”

Lundeen could not immediately be reached for comment, and no attorney for him was listed in court records, WJZ reported.

Two passengers sitting near Lundeen, Richard Olenick and Juan Mejia, restrained the unruly passenger.

Olenick, 53, is the owner of Gun For Hire, a shooting range in Woodland Park, New Jersey. He told the Times by phone that Lundeen began to shout racial slurs at one of the flight attendants.

“He was getting very aggressive and very loud,” Olenick said.

Juan Mejia, a retired law enforcement officer who is a sales manager at Olenick’s company, said the incident occurred about two hours into the flight.

Lundeen allegedly became physical with his seatmate, striking the passenger’s laptop before grabbing the man’s throat, the Times reported.

The passenger was identified as Jonathan Cahn, a Messianic rabbi and author from New Jersey, the Banner reported.

Lundeen told the court he did recall speaking with Cahn.

In a phone interview on Tuesday, Cahn told the newspaper he was sitting in the last aisle seat in first class on the flight, while Lundeen was sitting next to the window.

The two men spoke amicably at first until the topic turned to religion, Cahn told the Banner, adding that Lundeen began “spewing profanities, lewdness, vulgarities and blasphemy.”

“He was slurring everything and everybody,” Cahn said.

“Just like a light switch, all of a sudden, it went from quiet to yelling and chaos,” Mejia told WCBS. “I turned around to look, and the poor gentleman that was sitting next to him in the aisle seat, the individual had his hands around his neck and was, like, assaulting him.”

The American Airlines pilot announced an emergency landing because of the dispute between the two men, WJZ reported.

A flight attendant gave Olenick, Mejia and a third person a zip tie, which they used to restrain Lundeen’s wrists, CNN reported.

Lundeen then allegedly bit Mejia and tried to do the same to Olenick. That is when the men began using duct tape supplied by a flight attendant, according to the cable news outlet.

A photo shared by Olenick showed Lundeen with multiple loops of tape around his wrists, torso and head, strapping him into his seat, WCBS reported.

Olenick and Mejia remained with Lundeen until law enforcement boarded the plane in Baltimore and took him into custody, WABC reported.

During the hearing, Haag asked Lundeen, “What brings you to Maryland?” the Banner reported.

“I came to New York City. I don’t know how I got to Maryland,” Lundeen told the magistrate. “I was supposed to land in New Jersey.”

He said he was flying to help one of his daughters move into a new apartment, the newspaper reported. Her birthday was also that Sunday.

“I got a double whammy for my trip,” Lundeen told Haag. “Well, now, it’s a triple whammy.”

Lundeen was released on his own recognizance and ordered to abstain from alcohol and drugs, the Banner reported. He returns to court on Oct. 19.

As the hearing ended, Lundeen asked Haag how far he was from New York.

“That depends on mode of transportation and traffic,” Haag said. “But at least a few hours.”

Cahn said he will be flying again at the end of the month.

“I’m hoping those flights will be uneventful and not memorable,” Cahn told the Banner. “If not, I just take that duct tape with me.”

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