Home » News » WATCH: Flight attendant allegedly duct-tapes 11-year-old to plane seat

16 August, 2021

WATCH: Flight attendant allegedly duct-tapes 11-year-old to plane seat

By Alexandra Coulton

American Airlines is once again being accused of using duct tape to restrain a passenger, only this time it was an 11-year-old child.

A video that was broadcast by CBSN Los Angeles shows several passengers holding an unseen person to their seat in an aircraft cabin while a male flight attendant approaches with a roll of duct tape in his hands.

The flight attendant looks as though he is wrapping the tape around the seat; however, the passengers that appear to be helping him are standing in front of the camera, blocking its view of the individual at the centre of the commotion.

Witnesses told CBSN that an 11-year-old boy had become violent about an hour into a flight between Maui to Los Angeles on 10 August, forcing the flight to divert to Honolulu.

The boy reportedly tried to kick out the window next to his seat and was physical with his mother.

Another witness told the news channel that the child may have had a “developmental disability”.

The child was escorted from the plane once it landed in Honolulu and taken into custody, according to Business Insider.

A spokesperson for American Airlines said passengers were put on alternative flights or given hotel rooms.

Travel Weekly understands flex cuffs were used on the boy.

This is not the first time the airline has appeared to show a passenger restrained using duct tape, with footage of a woman duct-taped to a seat on an American Airlines flight surfacing in early July.

The airline said the woman had tried to open the forward boarding door and “physically assaulted, bit and caused injury to a flight attendant”.

“For the safety and security of other customers and our crew, the individual was restrained until the flight landed at CLT and could be met by law enforcement and emergency personnel,” the spokesperson said.

Data from the Federal Aviation Administration shows that over the past year US authorities have received 3,810 reports involving “unruly passengers”, 2,786 of which were mask related.

Featured image source: YouTube/CBS Los Angeles

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