American Airlines attendant/Photo courtesy of Unilad
A teen boy was duct-taped on an American Airlines flight from Maui to Los Angeles this week after attempting to kick in a window, reported
CBS Los Angeles.Witnesses reported that the thirteen-year-old boy initially attempted to kick out the window next to his seat and then became violent with his own mother. All of this occurred within the first hour of the flight.
The journey from Maui to Los Angeles is generally five hours, however, the teen’s behavior caused the flight to have to be diverted to Honolulu.
A video of the incident shows fellow passengers trying to help restrain the teen as the flight crew taped him down.
American Airlines said that duct tape was not used and that flex cuffs were used instead. However, the video clearly shows one of the flight attendants unrolling silver tape and placing it around where the teen was sitting. That may have been a temporary tactic though.
The account of the incident does not stop there, unfortunately.
Later reports claimed that the teen in question was actually an 11-year-old boy with autism, and he was experiencing a “medical meltdown.” He was the one who was duct-taped.
Later, his 13-year-old brother became antsy and attempted to kick out the window but settled down on his own. Their disabled mother was unable to control the situation.
Unfortunately, the boy is not the first person in recent weeks to be taped to their seat on an airplane.
Late last month, Frontier Airlines flight crew was forced to use duct tape on a grown man named Max Berry after he sexually assaulted a flight attendant by grabbing her breasts.
Earlier in July, a woman on a Delta flight was duct-taped after she attempted to open the airplane door in the middle of the flight.
The boy and his family, along with all of the other passengers on the flight were re-accommodated and placed on other flights or offered free hotel stays.
There were no injuries.