Arizona man indicted after airline attack forces emergency landing at BWI

BALTIMORE, Md. — An Arizona man faces federal charges after he allegedly attacked a fellow airplane passenger and intimidated crew members, forcing an emergency landing at BWI.

Tucson man Layne Lundeen, 67, is charged with interfering with flight crew members and attendants and assaulting those individuals.

According to the indictment, on Sept. 3, Lundeen assaulted a fellow passenger aboard a flight traveling from Dallas, Texas, to Newark, New Jersey, resulting in an unscheduled landing in Baltimore. Lundeen also allegedly interfered with flight crew members and flight attendants attempting to perform their duties by intimidating the staff.

TMZ was the first to report about the incident, saying Lundeen was screaming racial and anti-gay slurs at a flight attendant who stepped in to break up an argument between him and another passenger.

The man was restrained to his seat with duct tape and zip ties, and the plane was diverted to BWI.

Specifically, authorities say Lundeen:

• Made physical contact with a flight attendant or flight crew member
• Disregarded instructions from flight attendants or flight crew members
• Directed abusive and aggressive language, including racial slurs, toward flight attendants, flight crew members, and other passengers
• Engaged in disruptive and hostile behavior toward flight attendants, flight crew members, and other passengers
• An indictment is not a finding of guilt. Individuals charged by indictment are presumed innocent until proven guilty at a later criminal proceeding.

If convicted, Lundeen faces up to 20 years in federal prison for interference with flight crew members and attendants and a maximum of one year for assault by striking, beating, and wounding.

This is a developing story, so check back with WMAR2News.com for updates. Email the WMAR-2 Newsroom if you have info, photos or videos to share.

This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.