The Passenger That Got Taped to His Seat Remembers “Absolutely Nothing”

It might draw a blank for one S7 passenger, but his drunken, in-air tirade was an incident those around him on a recent Novosibirsk-bound flight won’t forget. The unnamed male passenger became so aggressive that crew and travelers taped him to his seat before he was taken into custody upon landing.

He might remember “absolutely nothing” of the incident, but a drunk S7 passenger had to be duct-taped to his chair by fellow travelers after he became physically and verbally aggressive during a recent flight between the Russian cities of Mineralnye Vody and Novosibirsk, The International Business Times reports.

No Handcuffs, so Passengers Turned to Tape

The unnamed passenger asked to meet the captain of the flight and eventually attempted to enter the cockpit. The outlet reports that, “Russian airlines do not have handcuffs on-board flights. So, the passengers and the cabin crew used heavy-duty tape to tie the man down in an empty business class seat.”

According to The Mirror, the man asked “to have a word” with the captain of the flight. According to an eyewitness to the incident, the drunken passenger behaved like a “wild bear” during the course of the journey.

A group of passengers overpowered the man while the flight was at a cruising altitude of about 33,000 feet. Despite being taped to his chair, he continued to shout and abuse those around him on the four-hour flight. Fortunately for the man, he was taped to a business class seat, thus ensuring that he continued his tirade in relative comfort.

Arrested for Violating Public Order, Investigated for Hooliganism

The man, who is in his 50s, was arrested upon arrival in Novosibirsk. He continued to shout at local law enforcement officers as they were removing him from the flight. The Mirror reports that while he was initially arrested for violating public order, the passenger was taken to a police station in Novosibirsk and is now being investigated for hooliganism.

The Russian-language footage shared by the outlet first shows the screaming man taped to his seat in the cabin of the S7 flight while a second video shows him at a Novosibirsk police station.

According to the outlet, during the second video, the passenger is said to be begging for his release from custody. According to a translation provided by the outlet, he is heard to have said to the officers, “I’m nice with you, so act in a different way.”

In response, an officer answers, “Of course you were nice. You have crashed half of the police station here.” The man replies, saying, “I remember nothing, absolutely nothing.”

As a result of the incident, Igor Trunov, president of the Lawyer’s Union of Russia, called for plastic handcuffs to be present on all flights within the country.

“These are quite soft handcuffs but you cannot tear them off. We have first aid kit for emergencies. We should also have special equipment for situations when such hooligans are rushing to get to the pilots,” he said.

[Image: Interior Ministry of Russia]