Things Got Violent on a Landing Plane. Out Came the Duct Tape

FBI says Charlene Harriott, 36, was taped and zip-tied to restrain her after she became violent
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 1, 2018 6:30 PM CST
FBI: Violent Passenger Duct-Taped by Flight Crew
The interior of an American Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner at O'Hare International Airport on May 7, 2015, in Chicago.   (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Federal agents say an airline passenger was zip-tied and duct-taped after she ran toward the front of the plane and became violent. A criminal complaint filed in federal court says the event happened on an American Airlines flight Wednesday morning from Dallas to Charlotte, the AP reports. The Dallas Morning News notes the plane was approaching Charlotte Douglas International Airport when the incident took place, per the complaint; the flight attendants had already taken their seats for landing, the Charlotte Observer reports. An FBI agent wrote in the complaint that Charlene Harriott, 36, suddenly got up from her seat near the back of the plane, ran toward the front, and ignored flight attendants' instructions to sit down.

Authorities say flight attendants restrained her in the first-class section, but she bit one and kicked another. The complaint filed Thursday says she faces a charge of interfering with a flight crew, as well as three charges of assault and battery. The flight attendants, who weren't seriously wounded, were treated at an airport clinic. An FBI spokeswoman didn't immediately respond to an email asking if Harriott has an attorney. Jail records show she was being held Thursday night, with a detention hearing is set for next week.

(More American Airlines stories.)

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