'Drunk' man on plane tackled and restrained with cable ties as flight diverted
The FBI has opened a probe into a recent incident involving an allegedly drunk man on a flight who became so unruly that the plane had to come to a sudden stop.
When a United Airlines flight going from London to New York had to suddenly land at Bangor Airport in Maine, police were on the ground and ready to arrest Alexander Michael Dominic MacDonald for his behaviour. Passengers captured the terrifying moment on an aeroplane when he had to be tackled TWICE by a fellow traveller before the plane made an emergency landing.
Passengers and aircrew knew they'd be in for a long flight when they spotted a drunk man arguing with his girlfriend as they got on the plane — but they didn't expect it to end with the man becoming so unruly he'd end up with his hands and feet cable tied on the floor.
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The man was screaming the entire time, until the plane landed and he was arrestedAnother passenger, Bobby Field, helped the crew out by subduing the man who was yelling at his partner on the flight. By the time the plane had landed, the intoxicated fellow was carried off the aircraft by border control amidst cheers from the other 150 passengers.
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Bobby told BlackCountryLive: "We were in the middle and they were a few rows ahead on the left-hand side. We noticed them when they got on the plane and were having words as the flight was going on."
"It was about six hours in when the lad started getting a bit rowdy and you could tell he had been drinking. He started grabbing her jacket and throwing stuff about," continued Bobby.
A flight going from London to Newark, New Jersey, had to land in Maine (ABC7)According to witnesses, the woman became upset and started crying. A stewardess collected her and suggested she walk to the back of the plane. That's when MacDonald let loose. He followed the girlfriend and the stewardess down the aisle.
MacDonald then began threatening an attendant and asking if he would like to "'Have a problem?" He also said he'd "Mess up the plane" and placed his hands on the crew member's shoulders as he backed him into the corner. That's when Field sprang into action.
"It was getting louder and louder and you could tell that something was going on and next thing was the air stewardess came running out and grabbed me on the shoulder," he said. "She asked if I could help, so I got up and walked into the back.
Two intoxicated passengers deemed a Level 2 threat -- which means life-threatening behavior -- forced the diversion (WABI 5)Field claims he approached the man and tried to talk to him first. He suggested that MacDonald calm down as he was upsetting the other passengers. But MacDonald continued to be combative. "He turned around and came at me so literally I just flipped him over and put him on the floor. I'm a big old lump to be fair, I'm a big guy. So I got him on his belly and got his hands behind his back," Bobby said.
He added: "An American guy gave us a hand and we got some cuffs on his legs and hands. He was shouting and we just held him down telling him to calm down." Bobby continued to explain that the crew had kept him tied on the floor, as MacDonald refused to calm down and kept yelling instead.
Bobby went back to his seat after this incident and tried to relax. MacDonald finally calmed down after Bobby left, and the crew decided to remove his hand and feet restraints.
And immediately MacDonald was off again, racing down the aisle to try and get revenge on Bobby, who describes himself as a "big guy." MacDonald was aiming to take down Field for taking him down earlier. But he failed the second time too.
"He came into the back giving it the big'un again so I did the same again and flattened him down," Bobby said. "I put the cuffs on him and told the stewards not to take them off him. We stood him up and he was shouting. He got his girlfriend to give him his phone and he started recording us saying 'You've assaulted me.'"
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Bobby explained that the crew told the man that if he calmed down, they'd be able to land. They only had an hour and a half left of their flight. But MacDonald kept screaming and acting up, so the pilots decided to make an emergency landing.
They stayed in Maine for about an hour as the plane refuelled and the police asked witnesses questions. Then they got to take off again and finish their flight to New York.
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