American Airlines Flight Diverted After Passenger Restraint

An American Airlines flight was diverted to Baltimore on Thursday, September 3, 2026, after a passenger allegedly became violent, shouting slurs and assaulting others before being restrained with zip ties and duct tape by fellow travelers. The passenger, identified as 67-year-old Layne Arthur Lundeen of Tucson, Arizona, was taken into custody upon landing and subsequently fired from his job as a real estate agent. According to reports, the incident began during the flight from Dallas to Newark when Lundeen, who appeared intoxicated, started yelling at the passenger seated next to him, identified as Messianic rabbi and author Jonathan Cahn. Witnesses described the situation escalating rapidly from quiet to chaos. Lundeen allegedly attacked Cahn, grabbing his neck, and later directed racial and homophobic slurs at a Black flight attendant. He is also accused of striking another passenger and pushing a woman who attempted to intervene. Richard OLenick, 53, owner of the New Jersey-based gun shop Gun for Hire, and his employee Juan Mejia, a retired police officer, were traveling on the flight and intervened to help subdue Lundeen.