There may be an even stranger layer to the Jonathan Cahn Flight 618 attack.
Before Arthur Lundeen publicly claimed he couldn’t remember the violent episode aboard American Airlines Flight 618, Cahn had already made a striking observation about the man accused of attacking him: He didn’t believe Lundeen fully understood what he was doing.
“As for the guy, listen, I have nothing against him,” Cahn previously stated. “He didn’t know what he was doing. I pray for him. I pray for the best. I pray he gets saved.”
Now, Lundeen’s own words are raising even more questions.
According to PEOPLE, Lundeen, 67, told a Maryland court that he had no memory of the Sept. 3 incident aboard the Dallas-to-Newark flight that ended with him restrained to his seat with duct tape and zip ties, and the aircraft diverted to Baltimore.
“I don’t remember any of what happened,” Lundeen said, according to PEOPLE, which cited audio of the proceeding obtained by The Baltimore Banner.
When District Court Commissioner George Haag informed Lundeen of the accusations against him, Lundeen appeared surprised.
“I assaulted a police officer? Is that what it says?” he asked.
After hearing more of the allegations, Lundeen responded, “Oh my God. What a mess. I don’t remember any of it.”
“I got a double whammy for my trip,” Lundeen said.
Then he corrected himself: “Well, now, it’s a triple whammy.”
Lundeen recalled drinking two screwdrivers and talking with the passenger beside him—Cahn—before the situation spiraled out of control, PEOPLE reported.
But Lundeen’s alleged outburst didn’t unfold in a vacuum. At 30,000 feet, there is nowhere to run, and the passengers around him weren’t about to simply sit back and watch.
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That willingness to act has become part of a dramatically different reality in American air travel. In an opinion piece published in the New York Post, the outlet examined how Sept. 11 forever changed how American passengers respond to danger in the sky. Rather than simply sitting back when a potentially dangerous situation erupts, passengers have increasingly shown a willingness to step in.
Flight 618 became a striking example.
As the confrontation involving Cahn escalated, fellow passengers moved in. Lundeen was eventually subdued, restrained with zip ties and duct-taped to his seat as the aircraft diverted to Baltimore.
And those passengers may have had more legal footing to intervene than many travelers realize.
A Yahoo Creators report examining the Flight 618 incident pointed to the Tokyo Convention, an international aviation treaty governing offenses and certain other acts aboard aircraft. According to the report, passengers may take reasonable preventive measures when they have reasonable grounds to believe immediate action is necessary to protect the aircraft or the people aboard it.
In other words, while Lundeen descended into chaos, the people around him didn’t wait to find out just how far it would go.
They acted.
For Christians who take the reality of spiritual warfare seriously, that convergence certainly gives something to ponder.
Whatever ultimately emerges about Flight 618, Cahn’s response remains perhaps the most powerful part of the story: Instead of seeking vengeance against the man he says attacked him, he’s praying for him.
Abby Trivett is a writer and editor for Charisma Media and has a passion for sharing the gospel through the written word. She holds two degrees from Regent University, a B.A. in Communication with a concentration in Journalism and a Master of Arts in Journalism. She is the author of the newly released book, The Power of Suddenly: Discover How God Can Change Everything in a Moment. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
