NEW JERSEY (WABC) — Two travelers from New Jersey are describing the tense moments they helped subdue an unruly passenger on American Airlines Flight 618 bound for Newark, saying the man grew aggressive, hurled racial and derogatory insults, and eventually became physical with people around him.
Juan Mejia and his boss, Richard O’Lenick, said the trouble started when the passenger began directing profanity at flight attendants.
“He started using the N-word and being very hostile and spewing venom towards them,” Mejia said.
The men were on the final stretch of their journey from Reno, Nevada, when they realized a disturbance was unfolding just two rows behind their first-class seats.
O’Lenick said the passenger also made disturbing statements while the American Airlines flight was in the air.
“So, his comment to me was, ‘We’re all going to die. The plane is going to crash.’ I’m like, no, I said, we’re going to be fine. And I tell you what, when we got to the front, when we get on the ground, we’re going to be a whole bunch of new friends in blue,” O’Lenick said.
Mejia and O’Lenick said their concern escalated when the passenger allegedly began choking the person seated beside him, prompting a woman nearby to try to step in.
“When I made eye contact with him, you could see the fear in his eyes and, like, without saying, ‘Help me, can you help me?’ And I got up and did what I had to do,” Mejia said.
The men said they stepped in to stop the passenger from harming others.
“When we first initially engaged, we worked on physically restraining him and to try to prevent him from physically assaulting, anybody else, including ourselves, because he was resisting us,” O’Lenick said.
Mejia, a retired Weehawken police officer, said his training guided his response.
“I didn’t think about it. Just got up, did what I had to do and use my prior training,” Mejia said.
The passenger was identified as 67-year-old Arthur Lundeen of Arizona. Mejia said the man continued resisting as crew members and passengers worked to restrain him.
“He ended up biting my hand and my forearm and kept trying to get up. Then Rich came over assisting me, put his weight on his body and torso, holding him down. And then the crew brought zip ties,” Mejia said.
Lundeen was also restrained to his seat with duct tape.
Mejia and O’Lenick said they were left covered in blood after the struggle. O’Lenick said the approaching anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks influenced his thinking as the situation unfolded.
“The terror of being feeling terrified came afterwards. Once the adrenaline level came down a little bit. And the reason that I would say terrified, I would say it came into play because we didn’t know what we were up against at that time,” O’Lenick said.
The two men said they acted to protect fellow passengers and crew members during the disturbance aboard the flight to Newark.
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