The slur-spewing plane passenger who was duct taped and zip-tied to his seat after an alleged mid-flight meltdown has been identified as an Arizona realtor.
Layne Arthur Lundeen, 67, of Tucson, forced American Airlines flight 618 from Dallas to Newark to land prematurely in Baltimore after his obscene outburst Thursday night — during which the bigot hurled the N-word at a flight attendant and spouted anti-gay insults, according to police.
Lundeen’s LinkedIn said was a vice president at Long Realty in Tucson, however, his profile had been scrubbed from the site.
Traveler Juan Mejia, a former law enforcement officer who was onboard, told ABC News he and friend Richard Olenick jumped into action near when they heard Lundeen two rows behind them becoming “belligerent” the end of the flight.
“[The] gentleman sitting two rows behind us started becoming belligerent, making derogatory remarks to the staff of American Airlines and other passengers, racial slurs, vulgar language, very offensive to the women” sitting in the row behind the Lundeen, Mejia said.
Olenick said Mejia “got up right away and jumped in the seat right next to the passenger and began working on restraining him in order to keep the situation contained.”
Wild footage from the flight shows Lundeen looking duct-taped to the chair like a Scooby Doo villain with his hands, head and torso bound.
American Airlines told The Post in a statement that the flight was diverted to Baltimore “due to a disruptive customer.” When the plane touched down in Baltimore “law enforcement met the aircraft and assisted with deplaning the customer before the flight continued to its destination.”
The FBI confirmed Lundeen was arrested by Maryland Transportation Police.
He was charged at state level with second degree assault and disorderly conduct, court records show.
“The FBI is currently conducting interviews to gather the facts and will consult with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland to determine if federal charges will be filed,” the bureau said.
