A Woman Who Was Duct-Taped Into Her Airline Seat Just Got A Record Fine For Being A 'Jerk'

A U.S. woman has been handed a record-setting fine for her out-of-control antics on an American Airlines flight last year, when she had to be duct-taped into her seat.

The woman reportedly attacked and bit a flight attendant after demanding to be let off the plane and even tried to open a door mid-flight, the New York Post reports. Video showing her duct-taped in place after the incident spread widely on TikTok at the time.

The Federal Aviation Administration just hit her with a record $81,950 fine for the viral incident, which happened on a flight from Dallas to Charlotte on July 6, 2021.

"If you are on an airplane, don't be a jerk and don't endanger the flight crews and fellow passengers," U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement announcing her fine. "If you do, you will be fined by the FAA."

The video posted initially on TikTok but has since been removed. However, it showed the woman taped down to her seat from the chest and mouth. She could be seen yelling at departing passengers after landing, reported Business Insider.

The flight attendants only taped down the woman after she went for a door and got physical with the crew, reported The Independent.

American Airlines confirmed at the time that the crew "reported a potential security concern after a customer attempted to open the forward boarding door and physically assaulted, bit and caused injury to a flight attendant."

The original poster of the video, @lol.ariee, made a follow-up video explaining what happened during the plane ride, which prompted the crew to bind the woman down with duct tape.

"She was saying, 'I need to get off this plane,' and she went up to the exits and started banging on the doors, saying, 'You need to let me off this plane!'" said @lol.ariee.

"Two flight attendants tried to restrain the passenger, but she repeatedly hit one of the flight attendants on the head," the FAA said in its statement about the incident. "After the passenger was restrained in flex cuffs, she spit at, headbutted, bit and tried to kick the crew and other passengers."

Once they landed, medical personnel and police officers were waiting at the plane's exit to retrieve the passenger and she was arrested at the scene.

The FAA did not identify the woman because the fine is a civil penalty, not a criminal charge.