‘Drunk’ traveller bites flight attendant, forcing U.S.-bound plane back to Japan

A U.S.-bound flight from Japan was forced to return to Tokyo after a “heavily drunk” American passenger bit a flight attendant, Japanese airline All Nippon Airways (ANA) said Wednesday.

The American traveller, an unnamed 55-year-old man, reportedly bit the arm of a female cabin crew member onboard the carrier’s Tuesday evening Flight 118 to Seattle.

An ANA spokesperson told AFP the flight attendant sustained minor injuries from the bite.

It is not immediately clear why the man bit the flight staff member. Japanese media reported the attacker told police he’d taken a sleeping pill and could not recall the incident.

As a result of the attack, the plane and its 159 passengers — which had only been in the air for about an hour — returned to Haneda Airport.

The man was brought to Tokyo Metropolitan Police upon the flight’s return to Tokyo.

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This is not the first time a passenger has ever bitten a cabin crew member. In 2022, a traveller onboard an American Airlines flight was accused of biting and hitting airline staff after the passenger attempted to open an aircraft door. The traveller was fined nearly US$82,000 (about C$110,800) for “unruly behaviour.” It is one of the largest fines ever issued by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The ANA biting is not the only aviation incident involving Japan taking place in recent weeks.

U.S. and Japanese safety officials are currently investigating a Jan. 2 fatal collision at Haneda Airport between a Japan Airlines aircraft and a small coast guard plane. The 379 people onboard the large aircraft were evacuated before the plane burst into flames, but five of the six coast guard crew members were killed. The coast guard was providing earthquake relief for a 7.6-magnitude quake in Japan on Jan. 1.

2:38 Japan plane crash: Could airport runways in Canada see a similar deadly collision?

In a separate incident from Saturday, an ANA flight was forced to return to Sapporo’s New Chitose airport after a crack was discovered mid-flight on the cockpit window of a Boeing 737. No injuries were reported.