How Japan Plane Turned Back After Man Bit Cabin Attendant

A Tokyo-bound All Nippon Airways flight headed for the United States had to return to Tokyo following an incident where an intoxicated passenger, believed to be a 55-year-old American man, bit a cabin attendant during the flight, the Japanese carrier announced on Wednesday.

The unruly passenger, described as heavily drunk, reportedly sank his teeth into the crew member’s arm, causing mild injuries, according to an ANA spokesman.

The pilots decided to turn the plane, carrying 159 passengers, back over the Pacific to Haneda airport. Upon landing, the disruptive passenger was handed over to the police.

The individual claimed to investigators that he had no recollection of his behavior. The bizarre incident led some social media users to draw parallels in a mock horror comparison to the “beginning of a zombie movie.”

This occurrence adds to a series of aviation incidents in Japan over the past few weeks. The most severe incident involved a near-catastrophic collision at Haneda on January 2 between a Japan Airlines aircraft and a smaller coast guard plane, resulting in no casualties but a tense evacuation.

Moreover, on Tuesday, a Korean Air airliner’s wing tip struck an empty Cathay Pacific plane while taxiing in Hokkaido, causing no injuries.

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Other mishaps included an ANA aircraft making contact with a Delta Air Lines plane at a Chicago airport, and another ANA flight having to turn back due to a discovered crack on the cockpit window of a Boeing 737-800.

Aviation expert Doug Drury attributed incidents like these to the challenge of handling larger planes at airports originally designed for smaller aircraft.

“The cracked window incident may have been caused by a faulty window heat system as the temperatures are quite extreme at altitude,” he added.

“This is not uncommon and has happened to me during my career.”

AFP