Frontier passenger duct-taped to seat after allegedly groping, punching flight attendants

A 22-year-old Ohio man who allegedly groped the breasts of two flight attendants on a Frontier Airlines flight and punched a third was duct-taped to his seat for the rest of the trip from Philadelphia to Miami.

After landing, police said, Maxwell Berry was arrested Sunday morning on three counts of battery. FBI agents who responded to the scene said they would not pursue federal felony charges, according to an arrest report provided by the Miami-Dade Police Department.

The flight attendants faced their own consequences, according to the low-cost airline.

“The flight attendants will be, as required in such circumstances, relieved of flying pending completion of an investigation,” Frontier said in a statement.

A minute-long video first reported by Miami TV news station WPLG showed Berry cursing at others on the plane with his mask under his chin and talking about the net worth of his parents and grandfather.

“My parents are worth more than ... 2 million ... dollars,” he said. “You know what, you ... suck.”

Around him, fellow passengers laughed and recorded the tirade.

The video also shows Berry swinging at flight attendant and a member of the crew wrapping duct tape around his body and head.

According to the arrest report, Berry had ordered two alcoholic drinks from a flight attendant and brushed his cup against her “back side inappropriately” while ordering another drink.

“Don’t touch me,” she said, according to the report.

The report said he spilled the new drink on his shirt, went to the lavatory and came out shirtless. The flight attendant helped him get a new shirt from his carry-on, police said, and then Berry walked around for about 15 minutes. At that point, he allegedly groped the breasts of a different flight attendant, who also told him not to touch her.

Then, the report said, he came up behind both women “and put his arms around both of them and groped their breasts again.”

One of the women asked a male flight attendant to watch Berry at that point, the report says. Police said the flight attendant asked Berry to calm down and stay seated, but the passenger punched him in the face.

The flight attendant and passengers restrained Berry and “had to tape him down to the seat and tie him with a seatbelt extender for the remaining flight,” the report said.

This is the second incident in a month in which a passenger has been restrained with duct tape. Last month, a woman was duct-taped to her seat on an American Airlines flight after trying to open an emergency-exit door midflight.

Airlines have reported a spike in disruptive behavior by air travelers this year, with the Federal Aviation Administration receiving 3,715 reports of unruly passengers. The FAA has started 628 investigations and moved forward with 99 cases with penalties.

On Sunday, police responded to an American Eagle flight after passengers got into a fistfight that was captured on video. Police said there were no arrests.