Goodness, flight attendants deal with a lot…
ANA flight returns to Tokyo after biting incident
This incident happened on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, and involves All Nippon Airways (ANA) flight NH118, which was scheduled to fly from Tokyo (HND) to Seattle (SEA). The flight was operated by an 11-year-old Boeing 787-8 with the registration code JA814A, and had 159 passengers onboard.
The planned 4,769-mile flight was scheduled to depart at 9:05PM and land at 1:10PM the same day. The plane ended up taking off at 9:47PM, and climbed all the way to 39,000 feet, flying northeast over the Pacific Ocean. However, just over an hour after takeoff, the decision was made to return to Tokyo.
The reason? A 55-year-old American man bit the arm of a female flight attendant, causing a minor injury. Following this, the crew restrained the passenger for the remainder of the flight. The aircraft ended up landing back in Tokyo roughly 2hr40min after it departed, at around 12:25AM on Wednesday.
As you’d expect the crew timed out at this point, so the flight ended up being rescheduled for later in the day on Wednesday. The jet ended up departing at 4:00PM, and is expected to land in Seattle at 8:05AM on January 17, roughly 19 hours after the scheduled arrival time.
What caused this airplane biting incident?
Why would a traveler bite a flight attendant? According to a spokesperson for the airline, the traveler was “heavily drunk.” However, when handed over to the police, the man claimed that he had taken a sleeping pill, and had no recollection of what happened, and denied having bitten a flight attendant.
We see all kinds of passenger misbehavior on US airlines, though it’s much rarer on foreign carriers. However, I suppose it’s not a surprise that it was an American passenger involved here.
It sounds like this was a case where the combination of alcohol and sleeping pills caused some wild behavior. I’m curious to see what kind of charges he ends up facing. People need to take accountability for their actions…
Bottom line
A poor All Nippon Airways flight attendant got bitten by a passenger on a flight from Tokyo to Seattle. The aircraft ended up returning to Tokyo, and the man was arrested. The man’s defense is that he doesn’t remember having bitten the flight attendant, as he took a sleeping pill.
What do you make of this ANA incident?
Membership is free and takes no more information than commenting as a guest. Earn status points for good contributions, and see fewer ads as your status grows.