A woman that had to be duct-taped to her seat on an American Airlines plane after reportedly attacking the crew and attempting to open the door mid-flight faces a record – breaking $81,950 fine, the largest the FAA has ever issued.
When she was captured on video bound to her seat on Flight 1774 from Dallas to Charlotte, North Carolina, on July 6, 2021, the passenger became a viral video sensation.
During the flight, which had been delayed by about three hours, chaos erupted as attendants scurried about, locking bathroom doors and grabbing bags from overhead bins before the pilot asked passengers to remain seated.
A crew member said the woman “had an outburst and like, had the urge to get off the plane” just before landing.
“And she was saying, ‘I need to get off this plane,’ and she went up to the exits and started banging on the doors, saying, ‘You need to let me off this plane!’”
The woman assaulted and bit a flight crew member, according to the airline, and was restrained “for the safety and security of other customers and our crew” after she “attempted to open the forward boarding door.”
The FAA also proposed a $77,272 fine against a woman on a Delta flight from Las Vegas to Atlanta on July 16, 2021, which would be the second-largest ever.
She tried to “hug and kiss” another passenger, tried to get off the plane in the middle of the flight, and bit another passenger multiple times before the crew restrained her, according to the agency.
