By admin 
BALTIMORE, MD (AZFamily) — New details have emerged about the moments leading up to a mid-air incident last month in which a passenger was zip-tied and duct-taped to his seat aboard an American Airlines flight.
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The passenger has been identified as Layne Lundeen, a realtor from Tucson.
“What a mess,” Lundeen told a Maryland commissioner at his initial court appearance earlier this month. “I’m at a loss.”
Seat change put author next to Lundeen
Jonathan Cahn, a New York Times best-selling author, was seated next to Lundeen during the flight.
“I wasn’t supposed to sit in that seat. At the last minute, my seat was switched, so I’m next to this guy,” Cahn said.
Cahn said he is speaking out because he believes previous news coverage did not capture what happened.
“Most of the news stories have no idea what happened,” Cahn said.
Conversation turned to faith before outburst
Cahn said the conversation with Lundeen began as friendly small talk before turning to faith and what Cahn described as the “power of Jesus.”
“He’s the friendliest guy. It’s just like something took him over,” Cahn said. “His face changes and his voice changes and his personality changes.”
Cahn said the situation then shifted from calm to chaos, escalating from verbal outbursts to a physical attack.
Other passengers intervened
Two other passengers said they stepped in to help during the incident.
“Bit my hand, bit my forearm,” passenger Juan Mejia said.
Mejia and another passenger, Richard Olenick, used duct tape to restrain Lundeen to his first-class seat.
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“We did his hands, his legs, his torso, and then the head was still flapping around, trying to headbutt and bite, so we used the tape to secure his head back,” Mejia said.
Lundeen says he doesn’t remember the incident
Lundeen later told the commissioner he does not remember the outburst or the plane’s landing. He said he only recalls talking with Cahn.
“I heard some comment about Jesus and I guess that’s what he was talking about,” Lundeen said. “I truly don’t know what happened to me.”
Cahn described what he witnessed in stark terms.
“You want to describe it, it’s like demonic. It’s like you’re watching a movie, a horror movie,” Cahn said.
Lundeen admitted to drinking two screwdrivers during the flight.
“Two drinks can loosen you up. There’s no way it’s going to make you biting and speaking blasphemy. This doesn’t do that,” Cahn said.
Lundeen faces charges of second-degree assault and disorderly conduct.
His lawyer said they can’t comment at this time.
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