Unruly Passenger Who Was Restrained With Duct Tape Faces Record Fine
On what date did the incident involving Heather Wells occur, and what was the flight route?
The incident involving Heather Wells occurred on July 7, 2021. The flight route was from the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Texas to the Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, N.C.
What measures were taken by the flight crew to restrain Heather Wells during the flight?
During the American Airlines Boeing 737 flight, several measures were taken by the flight crew and passengers to restrain Heather Wells after she attempted to open the aircraft door mid-flight and became aggressive towards the staff and passengers. Initially, two flight attendants and a good samaritan passenger tried to restrain Wells using flexicuffs. However, this proved to be ineffective as Wells continued to kick, spit, and attempt to bite the flight attendants and passengers.
To further secure her, the flight attendants decided to use duct tape to restrain Wells to her seat. They attempted to tape her mouth shut as well. The pilots decided to continue the flight to Charlotte, but by the time the plane landed, Wells had managed to wriggle her feet free and was kicking the seat in front of her so hard that it broke.
Law enforcement and medical responders were waiting on the Charlotte runway when the plane landed. In order to remove Wells safely from the aircraft, paramedics sedated her before untying her from the seat. The situation onboard the plane was described as "chaos" by passenger Arieana Mathena, who said the flight attendants were "frantic" as they attempted to bring Wells under control.
What was Heather Wells' behavior after consuming Jack Daniel’s during the flight?
Heather Wells consumed a Jack Daniel's drink during the flight and became increasingly agitated. She began running towards the back of the plane and dropped to her knees in the aisle, talking incoherently to passengers. She then crawled back towards the main cabin, where she threatened a flight attendant and attempted to open the main cabin door mid-flight3. Her behavior escalated to kicking, spitting, and attempting to bite and head-butt flight attendants and passengers, even after being restrained with duct tape and flex cuffs.