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Flight Attendants Who Duct-Taped Passenger to Seat in Shocking Video Receive Praise from Internet: 'These Are Model Employees' The passenger, identified as 22-year-old Max Berry, was duct-taped to his seat by flight attendants after going on a violent tirade on a Frontier Airlines flight.

By Emily Rella

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

A viral video of a Frontier Airlines flight has had viewers in shock and horror after a passenger reportedly inappropriately touched two flight attendants, screamed that his parents were worth "two million g*d*mn dollars," shouted more expletives and punched another flight attendant.

The passenger, identified as 22-year-old Max Berry, was then duct-taped to his seat by flight attendants in an effort to humanely restrain him.

He was charged with three counts of battery and booked at Miami-Dade County Jail once the plane landed.

Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, released a statement following the incident that stated the crew had been suspended as a "knee-jerk" reaction by Frontier Airlines.

"The crew was forced to restrain the passenger with the tools available on board," she wrote. "Management should be supporting the crew at this time not suspending them."

Frontier Airlines itself released a statement verifying the crew's suspension.

"During a flight from Philadelphia to Miami on July 31, a passenger made inappropriate physical contact with a flight attendant and subsequently physically assaulted another flight attendant. As a result, the passenger needed to be restrained until the flight landed in Miami and law enforcement arrived," the statement reads. "The flight attendants will be, as required in such circumstances, relieved of flying pending completion of investigation of the events."

Related: Airline Infuriates Passengers After Adding Hidden 'Covid Recovery' Fee

The video, which was posted on ABC's Sam Sweeny's Twitter account, has since been viewed more than 11.2 million times. When Twitter users discovered the crew had reportedly been suspended, it caused an uproar.

Many railed against Frontier Airlines, hailing the flight attendants as "heroes" and calling for just treatment of the crew.

"These are model employees," Twitter user Shiv Ramdas wrote. "Give promotion."

"It makes me more nervous that the flight crew was suspended for using the said duct tape to try to keep the passengers and flight safe," Laura Ward wrote.

Following the backlash, Frontier released a statement in support of the crew to CBS News, explaining that the employees would be put on paid leave, as is protocol pending an investigation.

Related: JetBlue Founder Launches Airline With $39 Flights

"Frontier Airlines maintains the utmost value, respect, concern and support for all of our flight attendants, including those who were assaulted on this flight," Frontier Airlines spokesperson Jennifer de la Cruz said in a statement. "We are supporting the needs of these team members and are working with law enforcement to fully support the prosecution of the passenger involved. The inflight crew members' current paid leave status is in line with an event of this nature pending an investigation."

Frontier, a well-known budget airline, saw a revenue loss off a whopping $225 million in 2020 amid the pandemic.

The airline debuted at $19 per share in April of this year, giving it a valuation of $4 billion.

Emily Rella

Senior News Writer

Emily Rella is a Senior News Writer at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was an editor at Verizon Media. Her coverage spans features, business, lifestyle, tech, entertainment, and lifestyle. She is a 2015 graduate of Boston College and a Ridgefield, CT native. Find her on Twitter at @EmilyKRella.

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