Layne Arthur Lundeen, American Airlines passenger duct taped over racist, homophobic outburst identified as Tucson, Arizona realtor and executive part of Long Realty Tanque Verde Trio Team.
An American Airlines passenger duct taped to his seat following a racist and homophobic tirade has been identified as that of a 67-year-old Arizona man.
Layne Arthur Lundeen, of Tucson, A.Z., is alleged to have made racist and homophobic remarks to staff and other passengers on board the flight heading out of Dallas Fort Worth, Texas bound for Newark, N.J only for the plane being forced to make an emergency landing in Maryland’s Baltimore airport.
Juan Mejia, a passenger on that flight and a former law enforcement officer, told ABC News he began hearing a disturbance near the end of the flight.
Unruly American Airlines passenger fired from Tucson reality
Unruly passenger appeared to be drunk upong going on racist and homophobic tirade
Witnesses on the flight said Lundeen, a first class passenger, appeared to be drunk. When a black flight attendant tried to calm him down, he started making racial slurs, using the N-word and being offensive to the women.
Mejia and his friend said they monitored the situation and intervened after Lundeen became physical.
Lundeen was then restrained to his seat with duct tape and his hands were restrained with zip ties, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority Police.
The two passengers said they stayed with Lundeen until law enforcement officials boarded the plane and took him into custody after the plane landed in Baltimore.
Lundeen was removed from the plane and the flight continued to Newark.
Unruly passenger id as Tucson, Arizona realtor with Long Realty
Lundeen is listed as working as part of the elite executive team of Long Realty Tanque Verde Trio Team. A report via Tucson.com stated the real estate executive living in the Tucson area since the late 1980s with brief stints in other states.
According to his Linkedin profile, Lundeen self describes as an ‘Assoc Broker, Realtor, Vice President Member of Executive Council at Long Realty Co Tanque Verde Trio Team Principal.’
States an about bio on the Long Realty page: ‘I specialize in bringing you the best homes for sale and real estate listings in the area. Whether you are buying a home, selling a home or need help securing a Home Mortgage, I’ve got you covered.’
The incident has led to commentators on the web demanding Long Realty fire the unruly passenger. As of late Saturday the Tucson realty group had yet to address their principal’s actions.
In a statement, AA says the flight was diverted ‘due to a disruptive customer.’ When the plane landed in Baltimore, Maryland Transportation Authority Police boarded the plane and found the suspect ‘restrained to his seat by duct tape and his hands secured by zip ties.’
Lundeen was charged with disorderly conduct and second-degree assault.
The episode comes amid a re emergence of unruly passenger behavior on domestic flights over America’s skies.
Noted a recent FAA report, ‘The rate of unruly passenger incidents steadily dropped by over 80 percent since record highs in early 2021, but recent increases show there remains more work to do.’
Related posts:
