Arthur “Layne” Lundeen, the viral American Airlines passenger duct-taped after melting down in a racist outburst, is now out of a job.
His employer, Long Realty in Tucson, Arizona, fired the real estate agent after his arrest on charges of second-degree assault and disorderly conduct, according to a September 5 statement the company released via Facebook.
The incident made national news after a photo showed Lundeen zip-tied and duct-taped to his seat aboard Flight 618 on Sept. 3, going from Dallas to Newark.
Now, one of the men who stepped in to restrain the unruly passenger is speaking out, providing more details about the chaotic scene.
According to Richard O’Lenick, a New Jersey gun range owner who was on the flight, Lundeen began unraveling and lashed out at a Black attendant who tried to calm him down.
O’Lenick recounted in a Sept. 6 Daily Voice article: “I don’t love to fly, and he just looks at me and goes, ‘We’re all going to die. This plane is going to crash,’ and I said, ‘You’re going to meet a couple of new friends when we land.’”
He allegedly spewed racist and homophobic slurs at the Black attendant before spiraling out of control and attacking other passengers.
O’Lenick was traveling with one of his employees, Juan Mejia, a retired cop. When things took a violent turn, the two men jumped in to hold Lundeen down while flight attendants grabbed the zip-ties and duct tape.
“I knew we were going to be doing this together, it wasn’t a thought,” he told the outlet, adding that Lundeen fought back the entire time, and even bit Mejia, which led to them taping his head to the seat.
“It was a pretty volatile situation for a while,” he said. “Safety was definitely a concern, and not knowing where it was going and what the intent was.”
The flight made an emergency landing in Baltimore, where Maryland Transportation Police were waiting and took him into custody.
In a statement to local TV station News Four Tucson, American Airlines thanked its crew for their professionalism and emphasized that “the safety and security of our customers and team members is our top priority.”
Long Realty was similarly direct in severing ties, stating in its Facebook post that Lundeen’s alleged conduct was “wholly inconsistent with the professionalism, integrity, compassion, and respect for others the company expects,” and adding, “we have no tolerance for conduct that so clearly falls short of those expectations.”
