The Aer Lingus flight was traveling from Lisbon in Portugal to Dublin, Ireland when the captain had to divert the plane and land in Cork instead.
Apparently violence erupted on the flight after a 24-year-old passenger “ran amok” and attacked a fellow passenger, biting him. The man was restrained by cabin crew and then passed out before passing away. A doctor on the flight tried to assist the man, but was unable to, as he already had no pulse.
According to Air News and Services, another passenger on the Aer Lingus flight was also injured during the incident, while trying to assist the man involved in the attack.
When the incident occurred, the plane’s captain contacted the Irish Aviation Authority’s North Atlantic Communications Service center at Ballygirreen, telling air traffic controllers that the passenger had “run amok” and requesting the diversion to Cork airport, due to a medical emergency.
As reported on the Inquisitr, the plane landed at 5:40 pm at Cork airport with all 168 passengers, along with six crew members, transferred to the airport building, while paramedics immediately responded to the scene on the plane.
According to a statement released by Aer Lingus, the plane had been forced to divert to Cork airport “medical emergency on board”.
“Aer Lingus flight EI 485 Lisbon to Dublin, diverted into Cork due to a medical emergency on board.”
“There were 168 guests and six crew members on board. The flight landed safely at 17.40 local time.”
While the identity of the deceased man has not been revealed, he is apparently not of Irish nationality and was believed to be studying in Ireland.
While initially he was believed to be traveling alone, according to the Irish Mirror, a woman who was thought to be accompanying him on the flight has since been arrested. It is unclear whether the arrest is related to the attack on the plane.
A post-mortem examination is being carried out Monday on the body of the deceased passenger to try to establish why the man passed away.
In a later update, the Sunday World is reporting that the dead man was Brazilian and that a “number of packages” were found on his person, containing some kind of powdered substance.
