US-bound ANA plane returns to Tokyo after ‘heavily drunk’ passenger bites crew member
- The incident prompted pilots of the plane bound for Seattle to turn back to Haneda airport, where the man was handed over to police
- The passenger, reported to be American, was quoted by police as saying he ‘doesn’t recall’ what happened as he had taken a sleeping pill
A US-bound ANA plane had to return to Tokyo after an intoxicated passenger bit a cabin attendant mid-flight, the Japanese carrier said on Wednesday.
The passenger, a 55-year-old man reported to be American, sunk his teeth into a crew member’s arm while “heavily drunk”, leaving her mildly injured, an All Nippon Airways spokesman said.
The incident prompted pilots of the plane bound for Seattle with 159 passengers on board to turn back to Haneda airport, where the man was handed over to police, according to ANA.
Japanese broadcaster TBS quoted the passenger as telling investigators that he “doesn’t recall at all” his behaviour, as he had taken a sleeping pill.
The incident left some social media users likening it in mock horror to the “beginning of a zombie movie”.