American Airlines passenger who was duct taped to seat, gagged after trying to open cabin door mid-flight sued

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is suing an apparently unhinged American Airlines passenger who created a chaotic scene while attempting to open the front cabin door mid-flight and forcing flight attendants to duct tape her to a seat. 

Heather Wells of San Antonio, 34, bit, kicked and spat at staff and fellow passengers about an hour into a July 6, 2021 flight from Dallas to Charlotte, North Carolina. The plane had been delayed about three hours before it finally departed at midnight, Fox News Digital previously reported. 

In viral footage of the incident posted by TikTok user @lol.ariee, the gray-haired woman could be heard screaming “You! You! You!” as passengers exited American Airlines Flight 1774 and flight attendants calmly nodded their goodbyes. 

In 2022, the FAA fined Wells a record $81,950 in civil penalties, Business Insider reported. Now, U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza has filed a lawsuit on the FAA’s behalf in San Antonio seeking to collect that money, per the San Antonio Express. 

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According to the lawsuit filed on June 6, Wells “wanted out” after drinking a neat Jack Daniel’s, running to the front of the plane and grabbing the handle of the front cabin door. 

She began “talking incoherently with passengers, before crawling back toward the main cabin,” and threatened an intervening flight attendant. Wells went for the front door again while yelling profanities before two more stewards restrained her. 

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American Airlines passenger Heather Wells has been sued for nearly $82,000. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Before she was restrained using flex cuffs, per the lawsuit reviewed by the San Antonio Express, Wells managed to strike one attendant in the head several times. 

“Ultimately, the flight attendants and passenger were able to restrain Defendant with duct tape and flex cuffs and get her seated,” per the filing.

Flight attendants gagged Wells in an attempt to stop her screaming outbursts. Even while bound and gagged, Wells continued to “kick and spit and attempted to bite and head-butt a flight attendant and passengers,” the lawsuit reads.

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Heather Wells continued to lash out after Flight 1774 hit the tarmac, and she needed to be sedated and removed from the aircraft by law enforcement and medical personnel, according to the lawsuit. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo)

Police were ready on the Charlotte runway when the plane hit the tarmac, but Wells continued to carry on even after the landing. 

“Ultimately, the defendant had to be sedated to be removed from the aircraft by law enforcement and medical responders,” per the filing. 

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Per the lawsuit, Wells violated federal aviation rules by trying to access the flight cabin, interfering with and threatening the flight crew and posing an imminent threat to passengers and staff. 

The Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department could not be reached at press time to answer whether criminal charges have been filed.