Layne Lundeen, 67, told a Maryland judge he drank two screwdriver cocktails before the outburst that forced his Sept. 3 American Airlines flight to make an emergency stop in Maryland, according to audio of the appearance obtained by The Baltimore Banner. Lundeen, an Arizona realtor, was arrested and charged with second-degree assault and disorderly conduct after the Dallas-to-Newark flight landed in Baltimore, where fellow passengers had bound him to his first-class seat with duct tape and zip ties.
Layne Lundeen tells Maryland judge he drank two screwdrivers before flight outburst
Layne Lundeen, 67, told a Maryland judge he drank two screwdriver cocktails before the outburst that forced his Sept. 3 American Airlines flight to make an emergency stop in Maryland, according to audio of the appearance obtained by The Baltimore Banner. Lundeen, an Arizona realtor, was arrested and charged with second-degree assault and disorderly conduct after the Dallas-to-Newark flight landed in Baltimore, where fellow passengers had bound him to his first-class seat with duct tape and zip ties.
Fellow passengers restrained Lundeen in his first-class seat using duct tape and zip ties, according to the report. He was taken off the plane in Baltimore and is alleged to have hit one of the officers who removed him.
Lundeen lost his job after the episode, according to the report, and told the judge he had no memory of the flight, saying his memory stops well before the confrontation.
Juan Mejia, a retired law enforcement officer who helped tie Lundeen down, told CBS the flight from Dallas, Texas, had been in the air for two hours before the confrontation began, and said a flight attendant mentioned serving at least one drink.
- The source does not state the date of Lundeen's court appearance in Annapolis.
- The source does not state whether Lundeen has entered a plea or the current status of the charges against him.
- The source does not reconcile Lundeen's account of two drinks with the flight attendant's account of at least one drink as described by Mejia.
- The source does not name the judge, the court, or the police agency involved.
- The source does not state the flight number or the year of the Sept. 3 flight.
- The source does not state whether American Airlines or the officer Lundeen is alleged to have struck have commented.
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