A Tucson man accused of forcing an emergency landing in Baltimore stemming from an attack of an airline passenger was indicted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland.
Layne Lundeen, 67, faces assault charges after he caused a commotion on a Sept. 3 flight that ended with him being duct-taped to his plane seat.
He is accused of “interfering with flight crew members and attendants and assaulting those individuals by striking, beating, and wounding in connection with the incident,” the Oct. 13 announcement read.
The flight was scheduled to travel from Dallas to Newark but was diverted to Baltimore, where he was arrested, court records said.
Lundeen made his first appearance in court on Sept. 4 and was released on his own recognizance due
to a lack of criminal history. He was expected to begin trial hearings on Oct. 19, but a motion to postpone was filed on Oct. 9.
Now, trial is expected to begin on Nov. 16, court records showed.
If convicted, Lundeen would face a maximum of 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, the announcement said.
Anatoly Smolkin, Lundeen’s attorney, told The Arizona Republic on Oct. 14 that he could not comment.
What happened on the Sept. 3 flight
Two hours into the flight, passengers heard Lundeen using “vulgar” language, including racial slurs, and making homophobic comments.
Flight attendants tried for about 10 minutes to quiet Lundeen, but the situation escalated, Richard O’Lenick, a flight passenger, previously told the Republic.
A woman sitting in front of Lundeen saw the Tucson man put his hands on the throat of his seatmate, who O’Lenick said hadn’t been responding to Lundeen’s outbursts. The woman started hitting Lundeen, who O'Lenick said struck back.
O’Lenick and his sales manager intervened.
Lundeen bit the sales manager and tried to bite O’Lenick as they tried to restrain him.
Eventually, flight attendants gave O’Lenick zip tie restraints to secure Lundeen.
Lundeen told Commissioner George Haag at his Sept. 4 appearance he didn’t “remember any of it.”
He told Haag he had two screwdrivers, a vodka-based cocktail mixed with orange juice.
Charging documents read out by Haag in court added that Lundeen struck an officer after he was removed from his seat. Haag later told him that the officers were being “nice” and decided not to charge Lundeen with assault on an officer.
Lundeen was let go from Tucson-based Long Realty Co. where he worked as an independent contractor for the brokerage.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Duct taped Tucson man indicted on assault charges in Maryland
