Drunk passenger 'sunk his teeth' into flight attendant's arm mid-flight

An All Nippon Airways flight from Tokyo to Seattle on Tuesday night had to turn around over the Pacific Ocean when an intoxicated passenger allegedly bit a flight attendant’s arm.

The 55-year-old American onboard flight NH118 was “heavily drunk” when he “sunk his teeth” into the female crew member, the Japanese airline told The Japan Times.

The approximately nine-hour flight had been in the air for just an hour, according to FlightAware.

The unidentified passenger was restrained by the flight crew, reported Kyodo News. Upon arrival back at Haneda Airport, the passenger was turned over to local police, an ANA spokesperson told USA TODAY in an email.

No passengers were injured in the incident.

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The passenger refuted the accusations to investigators, claiming he didn’t recall the assault due to the influence of a sleeping pill, according to Kyodo News.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department did not respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.

“The safety and security of our passengers and employees are ANA’s top priority and we will take all necessary actions to ensure it,” the ANA spokesperson said.

The flight departed the next day, nearly 19 hours after its scheduled time.

Earlier this month, another intoxicated passenger caused an American Airlines flight to divert when he punched a flight attendant multiple times – he also claimed to not remember the incident.

Kathleen Wong is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Hawaii. You can reach her at kwong@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Flight diverted after a drunk passenger bites flight attendant's arm