New video shows the Arizona realtor who was duct-taped to his first-class seat during a mid-flight meltdown being arrested by police within minutes of landing.
Arthur Layne Lundeen, 67, was swarmed by officers after his behavior forced the New Jersey-bound American Airlines flight to divert to Baltimore on Sept. 3, according to footage. The video shows cops ripping off the duct tape that had bound Lundeen by his arms, hands and head before hauling him off the aircraft within 20 minutes, witnesses told the outlet.
Lundeen, a realtor, was fired from his job after images from the altercation went viral. He was charged with misdemeanors for disorderly conduct and assault.
The meltdown began about two hours into the flight from Texas, when Lundeen allegedly started screaming homophobic slurs and hurling the N-word at a Black flight attendant. He also allegedly began attacking passengers, including his seatmate, religious author Jonathan Cahn.
Cahn, who had been sitting next to Lundeen in first class, described the sudden shift in a YouTube video posted Monday.
“I have never seen someone change in a split second from light to dark as I saw then, as if something had taken him over,” he said. “He went from the friendliest guy in the world to this dark person.”
Cahn said the outburst came after he showed Lundeen the cover of his newest novel and told him about “the reality of the real power of God on Earth and in our lives.”
“It’s all bulls–t. Jesus is bulls–t,” Cahn said Lundeen began yelling — before he started hitting him and trying to snatch his laptop.
“The plane is in shock, the pilot is radioing the ground for an emergency landing. We’re fighting over my computer,” Cahn continued.
The fight escalated as Lundeen allegedly screamed expletives and slurs at people who tried to intervene. Passengers and flight crew eventually restrained him with duct tape and zip ties.
After being subdued, Lundeen was filmed muttering about the size of people’s privates while waving his bound hands about.
“You have a little tiny d–k. You have a little tiny d–k. All you little f–king,” he said in one clip.
It remains unclear if Lundeen was intoxicated during the flight, though he appeared to be slurring his words in footage.
Cahn was not certain what caused Lundeen to snap, but the author’s account provides the most detailed witness description of how a seemingly pleasant conversation turned violent at 30,000 feet.
Lundeen’s charges remain pending as video of his removal from the aircraft continues to circulate online.