A shocking video shows the moment a screaming passenger was restrained with duct tape during a Florida-bound flight over the holiday weekend. Witnesses told WPLG the incident happened around early Saturday morning (December 30) on American Airlines Flight 9948, which flew from Rio de Janeiro to Miami International Airport.
Video obtained by reporters shows a flight crew member and four passengers pinning down the man, who was yelling for “help” and saying “They’re killing me” in Spanish. At one point, they tried putting duct tape over the man’s mouth before security showed up.
No word on what happened to the man or what caused the mid-air meltdown. Data from FlightAware.com shows the flight didn’t experience any delays from the incident. No arrests have been made as of Tuesday afternoon (January 2).
American Airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) haven’t publicly commented on the video.
According to the FAA, there were 1,987 reports of unruly passengers in 2023 — an 80% drop compared to 2021. While the number of incidents has dipped considerably, last year saw some attention-grabbing moments, such as Tiffany Gomas‘ viral meltdown where she declared another passenger “not real.”
