A United Airlines flight crew have tied an unruly passenger to her seat to restrain her until the plane landed in North Carolina to surrender her to police.

Maria Esther Castillo, 45, of Oswego, New York, has been charged with interfering with the operation of a flight crew and resisting arrest before a federal court in Charlotte city. A hearing on her detention is set on Thursday.

In their sworn testimonies, the crew of United Airlines Flight 645 en route from Puerto Rico to Chicago on Saturday said Castillo slapped a flight attendant's behind with the back of her hand and fell onto the head of a blind passenger and later started pulling the person's hair.

The crew restrained Castillo by putting plastic cuffs on her ankle but the shackle kept slipping so she was tied to her seat with duct tape.

At the Charlotte-Douglass International Airport, Castillo fought arresting officers who boarded the plane to remove her.