A passenger bit a flight attendant, forcing the plane to return to Tokyo: how he explained his behavior

A US-bound All Nippon Airways plane returned to Tokyo after a 55-year-old passenger reportedly bit a flight attendant. In a statement to the police, he claimed not to remember the incident.

As reported by The Japan Times, the passenger was intoxicated, citing his drunken state as the reason for his alleged lack of recollection of the events on board. The incident took place during a flight bound for Seattle, Washington.

The aircraft, carrying 159 passengers, departed at 21:47 local time, but the pilots soon had to request permission for an unscheduled landing at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, from where it had initially taken off.

The flight attendant, who suffered minor injuries according to CNN, filed a complaint about the unruly behavior of the intoxicated passenger.

Upon landing in Tokyo, the disruptive passenger was handed over to law enforcement. The Japanese TV company TBS reported that the passenger told investigators that he "did not remember" biting the flight attendant.

No further information was provided regarding the victim's condition or the fate of the passenger involved in the biting incident.