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Viewers are divided after a viral TikTok showed an apparently mentally ill woman held up with duct tape on an American Airlines flight after allegedly attempting to get out of the plane in mid-flight.
The video, which has garnered over 3 million views, was posted by @ lol.ariee who said the incident happened in the middle of a two-hour flight taking off from Dallas-Fort Worth.
“Suddenly they start to turn on the lights and we see flight attendants running down the aisles, whispering frantically to each other, talking on the phone with someone, just frantically,” @ lol.ariee said. “We were kind of like, ‘okay, now we’re alert, is everything okay? What is happening?'”
The first video in the three-part series shows a woman glued to her seat, with other passengers exiting the plane after landing. Doctors can be seen with stretcher waiting for everyone to come out, presumably to treat the hobbled woman.
As this unfolded in the air, the poster said what was going on in the cabin was not clear to passengers:
“The flight attendants weren’t saying anything, they were just running first class, sort of grabbing the overhead bags, they randomly locking all the bathrooms. It was a bit like chaos and no one knew what was going on. The pilot therefore goes to the intercom and makes an announcement saying, “We ask that you remain seated in your seat for the remainder of the flight, unless it is an extreme emergency. We understand that there is a bad situation on the plane right now, and we are working to fix it.
Commentators slammed the TikToker for saying that seeing the woman tied up with duct tape “didn’t suit her.” However, she explained that a flight attendant had informed some passengers that the woman may have experienced an episode related to “autism or schizophrenia”.
“Brother, they literally did what they needed to do for the safety of everyone on the plane,” @gwenythlb wrote. “How does that not suit you?” “”
Another commentator claiming to be a flight attendant said the flight attendants “did everything right”.
“As a flight attendant they did EVERYTHING right,” @thatjerseygirll wrote. “This is the most serious security threat. Nobody remembers September 11?!?! ”
Some sympathized with the shackled woman and @ lol.ariee’s concerns, saying that duct tape on someone with mental illness can cause harm and that there should be better ways to control or treat those with episodes.
“I think the point [@lol.ariee] was trying to do was not just restrict the [woman] was wrong but that way was the problem, ”@lyssbinch wrote. “We shouldn’t tape people with mental illness, we should have a better protocol in place for these things.”
One person suggested that airlines should have better crisis prevention training for mental health incidents.
Many others believed flight attendants were doing their best in a difficult situation with limited resources, noting that using duct tape was a safer way to restrain a person in difficulty than tie up or handcuffs.
In 2018, the airline made headlines when another passenger was also held up with duct tape and zip ties after biting flight attendants.
The Daily Dot has contacted American Airlines about the incident.
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* First published: Jul 10, 2021, 12:29 p.m. CDT
Brooke Sjoberg
Brooke Sjoberg is an editorial intern for The Daily Dot and studies journalism at the University of Texas at Austin. She is also the life and arts editor of the Daily Texan and an editorial intern for Texas Connect magazine.
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