Summary

Passengers on an American Airlines flight from Milwaukee to Dallas-Fort Worth restrained a Canadian man with duct tape after he allegedly attempted to open a cabin door mid-flight, claiming he was the “captain” and needed to exit.

The man became aggressive, injuring a flight attendant as he rushed toward the door.

Several passengers, including Doug McCright and Charlie Boris, subdued him, using duct tape to secure his hands and ankles.

Authorities detained the man upon landing, and the incident remains under investigation.

  • @Apytele@sh.itjust.works
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    966 days ago

    The passenger was seen lying on his stomach with his hands behind his back bound as well as his ankles with duct tape, the report said.

    So for future reference, especially for those of you who do such things recreationally, facedown restraint is very risky from a respiratory standpoint, especially with the limbs back in the hogtie position, that is how the cops kill people (I would say accidentally except they have enough education on the topic to preclude that). But ultimately I’m mostly just glad they kept him from opening the plane. That’s the obvious first priority there. Damn.

    • TheRealKuni
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      476 days ago

      But ultimately I’m mostly just glad they kept him from opening the plane. That’s the obvious first priority there. Damn.

      It’s physically impossible to open a door on an airplane during most stages of the flight. The door first needs to move inward before opening, and the pressure differential is absurd. The handle would break long before you’d open the door. The only time it’s really possible is near the ground as you’re coming in to land or taking off (which did happen recently).

      • @JPAKx4@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        6 days ago

        Boeing aircraft have this safety feature where it fucking immediately falls off so you can always get out if you are the Captain and need to escape from the bad duct tape wielders.

      • @ByteOnBikes@slrpnk.net
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        6 days ago

        I’m going to trust that you’re correct.

        But I’m still going to duct tape the psychopath for everyone’s safety, including the psychopath.

        • @Apytele@sh.itjust.works
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          35 days ago

          You would ideally keep their hands restrained in front of them but if they’re too dextrous to allow that you want to at least keep them on their side. That said, not a level of understanding I typically expect from laypeople (vs, for instance, trained police officers).

      • @Takumidesh@lemmy.world
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        6 days ago

        That’s not true on every plane.

        Typically for doors that don’t open inward first, they have interlocks.

        For example, the over wing doors on a 737ng don’t open inward, they are actually spring loaded on a hinge and swing directly outward, there is a locking pawl that engages and disengages automatically under specific circumstances, requiring the squat switches on the landing gear to be engaged and the throttles to be in an idle position.

    • @Carvex@lemmy.world
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      -486 days ago

      Opening the door during flight is attempted murder of everyone on board, fuck him. I hope it was hard to breathe the whole time and they put him in a nice padded cell for a while.

      • @orclev@lemmy.world
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        1116 days ago

        Considering he was claiming to be the captain and trying to get off the plane it seems highly likely he was having some kind of mental breakdown. He needs proper medical care and a psychological evaluation, not summary execution. Yes he was a danger to himself and others, but that doesn’t mean he’s guilty of attempted murder. A padded room might be appropriate depending on the psych evaluation, but wishing suffering on him without knowing the full situation is too much.

          • @RustyEarthfire@lemmy.world
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            56 days ago

            This saying is a pet peeve of mine, because it’s so contrary to the actual meaning of “eye for an eye”, which is a prohibition against escalation. Like in this case the guy injured someone’s neck and wrist, so the maximum punishment would be injuring his neck and wrist, not killing him. That’s not to say “eye for an eye” is an ideal justice system, just that it is opposed to wanton revenge and violence.

          • Semi-Hemi-Lemmygod
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            186 days ago

            Yes it is. Unless they’re under like 5,000 feet there’s hundreds of pounds of pressure holding the door closed.

          • elgordino
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            146 days ago

            It’s why plane doors open inwards before they open outwards. The air pressure means the door cannot possibly open inwards when at altitude.

            • beefbot
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              36 days ago

              This is very calming to hear & I feel like it needs to be mentioned lots more when we hear about these incidents! no sarcasm, it’s honestly good to think it’s not so easy

      • I mean, it’s an attempt, but it’s in no way possible to actually do. That’s thousands of pounds of pressure on that door. I’d bet on the handle breaking off before the door opens mid-flight.

    • Erasmus
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      86 days ago

      Truly a punishment that doesn’t fit the crime.

  • Todd Bonzalez
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    225 days ago

    Because of the way this headline is phrased, I am forced to assume that “who allegedly tried to open door during American Airlines flight” is a clause, and that the passengers duct taped this man to the state of Texas.

  • Phoenixz
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    165 days ago

    including Doug McCright and Charlie Boris

    Should I know these guys?

  • Flying Squid
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    366 days ago

    Assuming it wasn’t a Boeing, he wouldn’t have been able to get the door open, so at least they weren’t in any real danger.

    • @Im_old@lemmy.world
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      456 days ago

      Well, not from the door opening, you are right (pressure difference and such). But he already injured a flight attendant, so I guess he wasn’t going to say “oh well it doesn’t open, I tried, I’ll sit down quietly now”.

      • Flying Squid
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        136 days ago

        I wasn’t meaning to suggest that. Just that he wasn’t endangering everyone on the plane.

        • @Im_old@lemmy.world
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          146 days ago

          Well, not everyone at the same time, just one at a time! Lol

          I understand what you mean, I’m just kidding.

      • Flying Squid
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        36 days ago

        I agree. I didn’t mean to suggest that. I was just trying to say he couldn’t have opened the door at altitude.

      • @ByteOnBikes@slrpnk.net
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        16 days ago

        Having worked in childcare in college, I once had a angry child bite me. Their little baby teeth broke skin.

        Humans, even without weapons, can do a lot of damage.

    • teft
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      66 days ago

      That depends on where in the flight he tried to open the door. The article says mid flight but that could mean anything.

      Above 10,000 ft he wouldn’t be able to open the door because of the pressure difference but below that and he would have no problems since the cabin isn’t pressurized and the doors aren’t locked with any key or anything.

      • @Coreidan@lemmy.world
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        46 days ago

        Depends on the aircraft. In a 737 the doors drop pins once the takeoff roll begins. He wouldn’t be able to physically open the door at that point.

  • @aTun@lemm.ee
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    166 days ago

    Why is duct tape easily available on the airplanes then normal rope to tie? Are the airplanes required to use the duct tape in an emergency case?

    • modifier
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      6 days ago

      2 things

      1. when it’s an airplane we call it speed tape and its used all over the aircraft, mostly by maintenance, to keep the plane together. Don’t worry about it.

      2. This probably wasn’t duct tape anyway, but special tape for passenger restraint, similar to zip ties, that is stored on board for use in this type of situation

      • @tal@lemmy.today
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        186 days ago
        1. when it’s an airplane we call it speed tape and its used all over the aircraft, mostly by maintenance, to keep the plane together. Don’t worry about it.

        …prior to this comment, I hadn’t.

        • @Maggoty@lemmy.world
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          46 days ago

          I had one flight where we watched the mechanic go out to the plane’s wing and get up in there with duct tape and sticks.

          And people ask why we train to jump out of Air Force planes…

          • @Warl0k3@lemmy.world
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            6 days ago

            Speed tape is a very different thing vs ducktape. Ducktape rips off at speed, speed tape doesn’t, hence it being called ‘speed tape’ (there’s even different grades rated for different speeds). It’s also only used for sealing gaps in housings or smoothing damaged aerofoil surfaces, its never used for retention of working parts.

            (okay I’ll admit that sometimes it’s used to hold hoses or wiring in place when a retention clip or cable run has been damaged, but thats bad practice and its quite safe. There’s a few planes out there that even natively use it for the wiring harness in some really awkward, low-risk sections)

            • @Maggoty@lemmy.world
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              26 days ago

              Suuure… That’s what you guys want us to believe. Big Aviation Mechanics are all in on it together! They take a roll of tape out to the plane and make sure the passengers see it. It’s all a big show! Don’t think we don’t know that the plane actually just sits there while you guys change the backgrounds!

              ;)-

              • @WindyRebel@lemmy.world
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                25 days ago

                I’m way more impressed with how they pull off restructuring the city I’m in to look exactly like the one I am going to and replacing everyone with actors specific to that area.

      • There is duct tape carried on some commercial airliners.

        This is not the same as speed tape, and aluminum tape is not generally carried on airliners. That stays with the mechanics.

    • @CoffeeJunkie@lemmy.cafe
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      116 days ago

      Duct tape is used on airplanes all the time, so it’s readily available & multi-purpose. While it looks super sketchy, it’s actually pretty decent for a temporary fix until a proper repair can be implemented. Sometimes they’re criticized for leaving the temporary duct tape fixes on far too long. 🙃🙃🙃🙃

    • @Rolder@reddthat.com
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      56 days ago

      Why would an airplane need regular rope?

      Alternatively, duct tape might have been something the passengers had on hand so they didn’t have to request something from staff

    • mox
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      46 days ago

      It makes sense because the tape is more versatile, and because practically nobody knows how to tie good knots.

  • @Katana314@lemmy.world
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    85 days ago

    There was a CSI episode with a situation similar to this. Of course, since it’s CSI, the way that turned out was the mentally ill person was killed (and the episode was about the passengers/crew subtly covering for each other).

    Nice case of how in real life, people avoid harm when possible, and in fiction, people are all secretly ruthless savages out for each other’s blood.

    Oh; I should say, in fiction, and for police, who similarly live in fiction-land.

  • Cap
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    146 days ago

    Something tells me he was not the captain. But I’ll wait for all the facts to come out before I rush to judgement.