WATCH: Woman Duct-Taped To Seat After Trying To Open Plane Door Mid-Flight
By Jason Hall
July 12, 2021
A viral video shows a woman who apparently tried to open a plane door mid-flight duct-taped to her seat.
The video, initially shared by TikTok user @lol.airee, showed the woman screaming from a first class seat of American Airlines Flight 1774 as passengers exited the aircraft.
The woman reportedly attacked flight attendants and attempted to open the plane's front door after it was airborne, the New York Times reports.
In a follow-up video, @lol.airee explained that the incident began halfway through the two-hour flight when "all flight attendants were running up and down the aisles, frantically kind of like whispering to each other."
The TikTok user said crews locked bathrooms and grabbed bags from overhead bins, but didn't tell other passengers what was happening.
"It was just kind of like chaos and no one knows what's going on," @lol.airee added.
The pilot finally updated the situation over the intercom and told passengers to say in their seats due to "a bad situation in the plane," but didn't specify on details, according to the TikTok user.
A flight attendant who sat near the passengers later explained that a woman described as going through an apparent mental breakdown "had an outburst" and attempted to get off the plane mid-flight.
"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!'" @lol.ariee said.
The woman reportedly got aggressive, biting, spiting and attacking flight attendants, which led to crew members deciding to "take her down" and use duct tape.
The original video, which has since been re-shared on multiple platforms, was viewed more than 4 million times and showed authorities waiting at the plane's entrance as passengers were exiting the aircraft.
American Airlines told the New York Post that the woman "attempted to open the forward boarding door" mid-flight and needed to be restrained "for the safety and security of other customers and our crew" in relation to the incident.
The TikTok account was inactive as of Monday (July 12).