Unruly Passenger Duct-Taped to Seat After Racial Tirade
Left 25%
Center 25%
Right 50%
1 left · 1 center · 2 right
What happened
On September 3, American Airlines flight 618 from Dallas-Fort Worth to Newark was diverted to Baltimore/Washington International Airport after a first-class passenger became violent midflight. Local outlets identified him as 67-year-old Arthur Lundeen of Arizona; witnesses said he used a racial slur against a Black flight attendant and assaulted the man seated next to him. Crew members gave duct tape and zip ties to passengers who strapped him to his seat, with tape around his wrists, torso, and head. Maryland Transportation Authority Police arrested him on state charges of second-degree assault and disorderly conduct; he was released on his own recognizance, with a trial scheduled for October 19. The FBI said it was conducting interviews and would consult the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland on whether to bring federal charges.
Sourcing check · Mostly on the record · 4 articles
3 of 4 articles cite a named source for the story. It was on the record from the first report.
What these terms mean and how they're counted
- On the record · names a source 3 of 4
- On the record means the article cites a source by name for the story's main claim: a person, or an institution speaking officially, such as a company statement or a named agency's spokesperson. The opposite is an unnamed source. The count is how many of the counted articles cite at least one such source; the names are everyone named across them, each once however the articles spell it. Here: Michelle Ng-Reyes, American Airlines, FBI’s Baltimore field office, Maryland Transportation Authority Police, Juan Mejia and Richard Olenick
- Primary evidence · cites a document or data 0 of 4
- Primary evidence means the article cites a record you could check yourself: a court filing or ruling, a dataset or report, a recording or transcript, an official statement or press release, market data. A quote is not a document. The count is how many articles cite one. Here: None cited.
- Credits another outlet 0 of 4
- The article says the story comes from another outlet's reporting (“first reported by Reuters”). Those articles relay the story; they are not independent confirmation. Here: Each article presents its own reporting.
- Unnamed sources 1 of 4
- The main claim is attributed to people who are not identified: “people familiar with the matter”, “officials said”. The count is how many articles do this. Here: e.g. “TMZ reported, citing sources”
- How it developed
- When the first report landed and whether it named anyone; when the first named source and the first document appeared. Here: First report Sep 5, 10:03 UTC by Daily Wire, naming its source.
- Not counted 0
- Opinion, analysis and video pieces, and articles too short to assess. Every count above is out of the counted articles. An article republished under a new headline is one article.
This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Right-leaning coverage treats the outburst as alcohol-fueled, while left-leaning coverage never mentions drinking. The drunk label is Daily Wire's "reportedly drunk," used before the yelling starts. Racial slurs and a fight appear in NBC News with no drinking in the story. Readers of only the left account get bigotry and violence with no cause attached.
Right-leaning coverage leads with the takedown; left-leaning coverage leads with the abuse. Breitbart opens on "resourceful passengers" who subdued him with tape and ties. NBC News opens on hurled slurs and an attack, and only later describes three men holding him down at the rear of first class.
Was the passenger breath-tested after the emergency landing in Baltimore, or is the drinking still just an allegation?
Bottom line
NBC News never mentions alcohol in the taped-passenger story, unlike Daily Wire, so its readers get a racial attack with no intoxication in view.
The receipts — 6 facts one side's coverage lacks
- Passenger described as reportedly drunk or appearing drunk
- Passenger identified as Arthur Lundeen
- Released on his own recognizance facing second-degree assault and disorderly conduct
- Passenger allegedly used an anti-gay or homophobic slur
- Flight attendants handed duct tape and zip ties to passengers to restrain him
- Witness said they worried he might try to go into the cockpit
The Left View
NBC News framed the episode as racist violence against crew and passengers, leading with a witness who said the man was “hurling racial slurs at staff,” made “racially offensive remarks” toward the traveler beside him, and appeared to “target his fury at flight attendants who were Black.” The report did not name him, described him “thrashing around” and bleeding while others held him, and quoted fear that he “might try to go into the cockpit.” It closed on the airline’s statement that safety is its “top priority” and that it does “not tolerate violence.”
The Right View
Daily Wire and Breitbart named the passenger, called the episode a “boozy racial tirade,” and cast those who restrained him as “resourceful passengers,” stressing images of him taped “like a mummy.” Drawing on TMZ, they added shouting about Jesus and hell, the N-word and an anti-gay slur, hands around a neighbor’s neck, and a struck computer, and they noted his release on recognizance. They placed the flight in a longer unruly-passenger trend, citing FAA figures of 5,973 incidents in 2021, a drop of more than 80 percent since, and a recent uptick the agency still flags.
Our Take (balanced)
The left’s strongest argument is that race was central, grounded in NBC’s onboard witness that the man directed racially offensive remarks at a fellow passenger and “target[ed] his fury at flight attendants who were Black.” The right’s strongest argument is that this was an alcohol-fueled disruption contained by passengers with airline-supplied restraints, grounded in the named identification, the “boozy” characterization, specified state charges, and release pending trial. The central unresolved tension is whether the defining fact is a racially targeted assault on Black crew and a nearby traveler, or a drunk, disorderly outburst—slurs included—that ordinary passengers had to physically end.
4 sources
- Man duct-taped to plane seat after hurling slurs and attacking other passenger, witness says
- Airline Passenger Duct-Taped To Seat ‘Like A Mummy’ After Boozy Racial Tirade
- WATCH: Passengers on Texas Flight Zip Tie and Duct Tape Man to His Seat After He Becomes Disruptive
- Passenger duct taped to seat after allegedly calling flight attendant racial slur
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