A group of passengers on an American Airlines flight restrained and tied up a passenger with duct tape after, authorities said, he tried to open an aircraft door midflight.
The incident happened on American Flight 1915 from Milwaukee to Dallas-Fort Worth on Tuesday.
Passengers jumped in to help, they said, after they saw a disruptive passenger from Canada tell a flight attendant near the front of the plane that he needed to exit via a cabin door.
The passenger went up to a flight attendant in the front galley of the aircraft and made a comment about “wanting and needing to exit the aircraft now,” the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport Public Safety Department said in a report.
The flight attendant told authorities that the passenger’s voice got louder and that he became more agitated. She made a call to the rear flight attendant to request more people in the front and also made a hand gesture to passengers near her indicating she needed assistance.
She placed herself between the left first entry door on the aircraft and the passenger, and he rushed toward her and the door. He jumped on top of her in his effort to access the cabin door, injuring her left wrist and neck, the report said.
One of the passengers, Doug McCright, bear-hugged the man in an attempt to pull him off of her.
“The only thing you could think about was 'I’ve got to stop this guy,'” McCright, who was sitting in the front row of the flight, told NBC News. He recalled hearing the unruly passenger say: “I’m getting off this plane. I need to get off the plane.”
Another flight attendant told authorities that the passenger told her he wanted to get off the flight because he was the “captain.” That flight attendant tried to de-escalate the situation, but he did not listen and kept insisting he was getting off the flight.
Passenger Charlie Boris also jumped in to help.
“The fight-or-flight instinct kind of came over. And yeah, after processing and the situation was done, yeah, I’m very thankful to be here,” Boris told NBC News.
According to the report, Boris told authorities that he learned there was a man on the flight trying to open the cabin door and went to the front of the plane to assist. Once he was there, he saw the passenger on the ground trying to “get free.” Boris sprang into action by pinning the man’s legs down with pressure, and he said duct-tape was used to subdue him. Boris said the man was talking about being from Toronto and seeing a therapist.
Other passengers were also mentioned in the report as witnesses and as assisting in restraining of the unruly man. One told authorities it took at least three people to keep the man down.
Officers said that when the plane landed in Dallas, they arrived to find “a male passenger on board who was secured and restrained with tape.”
The passenger was seen on his stomach with his hands behind his back bound, as well as his ankles, with duct tape, the report said.
The passenger was transported for evaluation. The investigation is ongoing.
American Airlines said the restraint tape is included in an onboard kit as a safety measure.
“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,” it said.