The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is suing an apparently psychopathic American Airlines passenger who caused chaos by trying to open the front door mid-flight and forcing flight attendants to duct tape him to his seat.
Heather Wells, 34, of San Antonio, began biting, kicking and spitting at staff and other passengers about an hour into a flight from Dallas to Charlotte, North Carolina, on July 6, 2021. The flight was delayed about three hours, eventually departing in the middle of the night, Fox News Digital previously reported.
The video of the incident went viral, TikTok user @lol.arieeAs passengers disembarked from American Airlines Flight 1774 and flight attendants silently nodded farewell, a white-haired woman could be heard yelling, “You! You! You!”
In 2022, the FAA assessed Wells a record civil penalty of $81,950, Business Insider reported. Now, U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza is suing in San Antonio on behalf of the FAA, seeking to recover that money. San Antonio Express.
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Heather Wells, 34, said she “wanted to get out” after drinking a straight Jack Daniel’s on an American Airlines flight, and ran toward the cabin door, fighting with passengers and flight attendants who tried to stop her. (Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images)
According to the lawsuit filed June 6, Wells had been drinking a Jack Daniel’s straight up, then ran to the front of the plane and grabbed the handle on the front cabin door, “wanting to get out.”
She “engaged in an incoherent conversation with a passenger before crawling back toward the main cabin” and threatening a flight attendant who intervened. Wells then made her way toward the front door again, yelling profanities, but two more flight attendants stopped her.
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American Airlines passenger Heather Wells is suing, seeking approximately $82,000 in damages. (Drew Ungerer/Getty Images)
According to the lawsuit reviewed by the San Antonio Express, Wells struck one of the deputies multiple times in the head before being restrained with flex cuffs.
“Flight attendants and passengers were eventually able to restrain the defendant with duct tape and flex cuffs and place him in his seat,” the lawsuit states.
A flight attendant gagged Wells in an attempt to stop her screaming, and the lawsuit says that despite being bound and gagged, Wells “continued to kick, spit, bite and attempt to headbutt flight attendants and passengers.”
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According to the lawsuit, Heather Wells continued to yell abusive language after Flight 1774 hit the runway and had to be calmed and removed from the plane by police and medical personnel. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo)
Police were waiting on the runway in Charlotte when the plane touched down, but Wells continued flying after it landed.
“Ultimately, the defendant had to be sedated by police and medical evacuation teams and removed from the aircraft,” the lawsuit states.
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According to the lawsuit, Wells violated federal aviation regulations by attempting to enter the aircraft, obstructing and threatening flight crew, and posing an imminent threat to passengers and staff.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department could not be reached at press time and did not provide any response as to whether criminal charges had been filed.
