A lady who was duct-taped to her seat on an American Airlines plane after reportedly attacking the crew and attempting to unlock the door mid-flight faces a record-breaking $81,950 fine from the Federal Aviation Administration.
When she was captured strapped to her seat on Flight 1774 from Dallas to Charlotte, North Carolina, on July 6, 2021, she became a viral video sensation.
According to footage provided by TikTok user @lol.ariee, she could be heard yelling, “You! You! You!” at passengers flowing past her as flight staff nodded their goodbyes quietly.
The aircraft, which had been delayed by roughly three hours, descended into chaos as attendants frantically locked lavatory doors and grabbed baggage from overhead bins before the pilot instructed passengers to remain seated.
A crew member reported the woman “had an outburst and had the need to get off the plane” just before landing, according to the TikTok user.
“And 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 airline told The Post that the woman assaulted and bit a flight attendant after she “attempted to open the forward boarding door” and was restrained “for the safety and security of other customers and our crew.”
The FAA also requested a fine of $77,272 against a woman on a Delta trip from Las Vegas to Atlanta on July 16, 2021, which would be the second-largest ever.
She tried to “hug and kiss” another passenger, tried to escape the plane mid-flight, and bit another passenger many times until the crew restrained her, according to the agency.
The two fines are part of a total of around $2 million in penalties suggested by the FAA so far this year.
Passengers have 30 days to respond to the FAA after receiving the agency’s letter, which claims that its zero tolerance policy against rowdy behavior and public awareness campaign have reduced such occurrences by nearly 60%.
“Interfering with aircraft crews or physically assaulting or threatening to physically assault aircraft crews or anyone else on an aircraft is prohibited under federal law,” the agency stated.