The Brief An Arizona man was indicted for an alleged assault on an American Airlines flight. The alleged attack forced the plane to make an emergency landing at BWI Airport and prompted passengers to restrain the man. Layne Lundeen faces up to 21 years in prison for charges of assault and interfering with flight crew. An Arizona man was indicted for a mid-flight outburst that prompted passengers to restrain him and pilots to make an unscheduled emergency landing at BWI Airport in Maryland. What we know: Layne Lundeen, 67, of Tucson, Arizona, was charged with interfering with flight crew members and assault by striking, beating and wounding, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for Maryland. The chaos broke out nearly two hours into a September 3 flight from Dallas, Texas, to Newark, New Jersey. According to charging documents, Lundeen interfered with flight attendants and crew members by intimidating them as they attempted to perform their duties. Image 1 of 3 Layne Lundeen, 67, of Tucson, Arizona, charges after plane assault (Credit: Richard O'Lenick) Court documents further allege that he ignored crew instructions, directed abusive language and racial slurs at the flight crew and displayed hostile behavior toward both crew and travelers. Fellow passengers who spoke to FOX 10 Phoenix said that Lundeen hurled racial and homophobic slurs, attacked his seatmate and bit rescuers. The verbal abuse turned physical when Lundeen allegedly grabbed the passenger sitting next to him by the neck and began strangling him. When a woman stepped in to help, Lundeen struck her, prompting two travelers to rush down the aisle to assist. Local store manager Richard Olenick was flying home from a work convention with coworker and retired police officer Juan Mejia when they witnessed the violence. READ MORE | Passenger who duct-taped 'violent' Arizona realtor to plane seat speaks out What they're saying: Everything was fine, until it wasn't, Olenick said. Mejia pulled the victim to safety while Olenick squeezed between the seats to restrain Lundeen. Olenick said Lundeen fought back, lea #fox26houston #crimewatchhouston