Unruly American Airlines passenger who had to be subdued with duct tape sued by FAA

An American Airlines passenger who tried opening the plane’s front cabin door, had to be restrained with duct tape and was finally sedated is being sued by the federal government for not paying her $81,950 unruly passenger fine.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas filed the civil lawsuit against Heather Wells, 34, of San Antonio, on behalf of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Ms. Wells, who was flying business class on a July 2021 flight from Dallas to Charlotte, North Carolina, ordered a drink and then got agitated, the suit says, according to media reports.

Ms. Wells “became increasingly agitated and ‘wanted out’ of the plane. She left her seat and began moving and/or running toward the rear of the aircraft, before going to her knees in the aisle. She remained there shortly, talking incoherently to passengers, before crawling back toward the main cabin,” the suit says, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

Ms. Wells is accused of telling a flight attendant who tried to intervene that she would “hurt him,” pushed him aside, went to the front of the plane and attempted to open the front cabin door. She was restrained by passengers and crew, but struck a flight attendant in the head before she was duct taped to a seat, according to KENS-TV. She continued to kick, spit, scream and curse until the flight landed.

She ultimately had to be sedated and was removed when the plane landed, according to KENS-TV.

While she did not face criminal charges, she was fined $81,950 under an FAA zero-tolerance policy put in place in January 2021, according to the New York Post.

Ms. Wells told KENS-TV that “I know that it was not rational, and I was not actually in any external danger but at the time I was genuinely afraid for my life. Words can’t express how sorry I am for the fear I caused and the people I hurt. The last thing I would ever want to do is to hurt anyone. I was not in control of my actions at the time, but that doesn’t undo the harm I caused, and I am truly sorry.”

Airlines saw a massive spike in passenger unruliness in 2021, leading the FAA to swap out warnings for fines. There were 5,973 unruly passenger incidents that year, a nearly 500% increase over 2020, according to the FAA.

The number of incidents dropped to 2,455 in 2022, 2,075 in 2023, and 915 cases in 2024 as of Sunday, with 106 incidents connected to drinking.