Passenger duct-taped to seat after drunken kerfuffle

An incident aboard an Icelandair flight led to an intervention by passengers and flight crew last week. According to the New York Post, the 46-year-old Iceland native became rowdy during the New York-bound flight, only a few hours after departure from Reykjavík airport.

Allegedly having drunk several bottles of hard duty-free liquor, the passenger started causing a racket. He then “became intoxicated, verbally abusive toward the flight crew as well as other passengers,” a police source stated

Fed up

After spitting at other passengers, attempting to choke some, and repeatedly calling out that the plane was going to crash, the man’s fellow passengers were so fed up that they decided to take matters into their own hands. Two Guatemalan men pinned the rowdy Icelander to his seat, at which point the Icelandair crew stepped in with duct tape and cuffs. The man was taped to his seat and gagged, and remained that way for the rest of the flight, approximately two hours. New York-resident Andy Ellwood posted a photo of the restrained passenger on his Tumblr, taken by his friend who was on the flight.Upon arrival at JFK, the man was taken into custody by New York police officers. Although being ‘drunk and disorderly’ on board an airplane is a crime, charges were dropped.

Icelandair declined to comment on the incident.