A New Jersey gun range owner has been identified as one of the passengers who helped restrain a disruptive traveler aboard an American Airlines flight from Dallas to Newark after the passenger allegedly launched into a series of racist and homophobic outbursts, as reported by The New York Post.
Richard O’Lenick, 53, of Gun for Hire in Woodland Park, New Jersey, was traveling on American Airlines Flight 618 Thursday night when Arthur Layne Lundeen, 67, allegedly became disruptive and violent during the flight.
O’Lenick was returning from a gun expo in Reno, Nevada, with one of his employees, Juan Meija, a retired New Jersey police officer.
According to O’Lenick, the situation escalated after Lundeen began making threats and directing offensive remarks at a Black flight attendant.
“I don’t love to fly, and he just looks at me and goes, ‘We’re all going to die. This plane is going to crash,’” O’Lenick told The Daily Voice.
“And I said, ‘You’re going to meet a couple of new friends when we land.’”
O’Lenick and Meija intervened after Lundeen allegedly became violent. The two men moved to help protect other passengers and restrain him while flight attendants obtained duct tape and zip ties.
O’Lenick said there was little hesitation when he and Meija decided to intervene.
“I knew we were going to be doing this together; it wasn’t a thought,” O’Lenick said.
The relationship between the two men played a significant role in how they handled the situation, according to O’Lenick. Meija works as a sales manager at Gun For Hire and previously served as a New Jersey police officer.
“I’ve got his back, and he’s got mine,” O’Lenick said. “It went the way it did because we have a good relationship and we understood each other and neither of us were going to let the other down.”
O’Lenick said the confrontation remained volatile as Lundeen resisted efforts to restrain him. The passenger allegedly continued fighting the men, and O’Lenick said Lundeen bit Meija during the struggle.
The men eventually secured Lundeen to his seat with assistance from flight attendants.
“It was a pretty volatile situation for a while,” O’Lenick said. “Safety was definitely a concern, and not knowing where it was going and what the intent was.”
A passenger was duct-taped to his seat after allegedly making racist and anti-gay remarks on an American Airlines flight.
According to TMZ, the man allegedly used the N-word toward a Black flight attendant and became violent, hitting another passenger and pushing a woman who… pic.twitter.com/GuqwkeEdoh
— Complex (@Complex) September 4, 2026
The incident occurred while the aircraft was in flight and prompted the passengers and crew to take steps to keep Lundeen from continuing to pose a threat.
After the aircraft landed in Newark, Maryland Transportation Police took Lundeen into custody, according to court records. He was charged with second-degree assault and disorderly conduct.
Lundeen’s conduct also had consequences outside the criminal case. Long Realty, the Arizona real estate company where he worked, fired him after learning about the incident aboard the flight.
The episode began with Lundeen allegedly directing racist and homophobic slurs toward a Black flight attendant. According to reports, his behavior later escalated to alleged physical confrontations involving other passengers.
The identification of O’Lenick and Meija provides additional information about the passengers who intervened before the plane reached its destination.
Both men were returning from a firearms industry event when the incident occurred.
O’Lenick operates Gun For Hire in Woodland Park, a New Jersey firearms training and shooting facility. Meija, his employee, is a retired police officer who was traveling with him.
The incident has since attracted significant attention after video of the restrained passenger circulated publicly. The footage showed Lundeen secured in his seat after the confrontation.
Authorities are continuing to handle the criminal case against Lundeen. The charges of second-degree assault and disorderly conduct stem from the events aboard the American Airlines flight.
The flight originated in Dallas and was bound for Newark, where law enforcement took custody of Lundeen after the aircraft landed.
For O’Lenick, the incident was an unexpected disruption during a return trip, but he said he and Meija understood that they needed to work together once the situation became a safety concern.
Their intervention, along with assistance from the flight crew, ultimately allowed the aircraft to continue to Newark, where police took over the situation.
The incident has also resulted in professional consequences for Lundeen, who was dismissed by Long Realty after the company learned about his conduct during the flight.
