Chaos broke out on an American Airlines flight from Texas to New Jersey on September 3 when passenger Arthur Lundeen, 67, allegedly made racist remarks to airline staff and became violent towards fellow passengers, according to ABC News. Crew members, assisted by several travellers, used duct tape to restrain him. Among those who stepped in were Richard O'Lenick, 53, owner of the Gun For Hire store in New Jersey, and his employee, former police officer Juan Mejia. The pair acted quickly when the situation escalated and helped the crew bring it under control.
Lundeen, 67, of Arizona, was restrained to his seat with duct tape and had his hands secured with zip ties, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, which arrested him after the plane landed.
The incident occurred on American Airlines Flight AA618, which was travelling from Dallas to Newark, according to the FBI and the airline.
Juan Mejia, a passenger on the flight and a former law enforcement officer, told ABC News that he began hearing a disturbance about three-quarters of the way through the journey.
"The gentleman sitting two rows behind us started becoming belligerent, making derogatory remarks to American Airlines staff and other passengers, using racial slurs and vulgar language. It was very offensive to the women sitting in the row behind him," Mejia told ABC News.
Mejia and his friend Richard O'Lenick told ABC News they had been monitoring the situation and intervened after Lundeen allegedly became physical.
"Juan immediately knew that action had to be taken. He got up right away, sat next to the passenger and began helping to restrain him in order to keep the situation contained," O'Lenick told ABC News.
Mejia and his friend Richard Olenick said they stayed with Lundeen until law enforcement officials boarded the plane and took him into custody after they landed in Baltimore.
