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.

  • aTun@lemm.ee
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    1 day 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@lemmy.ca
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      1 day 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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        1 day 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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          22 hours 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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            21 hours 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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              20 hours 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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                12 hours 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.

      • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        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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      1 day 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. 🙃🙃🙃🙃

    • mox@lemmy.sdf.org
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      1 day ago

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

    • Rolder@reddthat.com
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      1 day 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