Flight Drama: Bites, Punches & More

Brazilian man bites fellow passenger, dies on Irish aircraft.
Police say a 24-year-old Brazilian man has collapsed and died on board an Irish aircraft after becoming frenetic and attacking a fellow passenger.

Sunday night's Aer Lingus flight from Lisbon, Portugal, to Dublin was diverted to the southwest Irish city of Cork, where paramedics pronounced the man dead on arrival. Passengers said he had bitten a man sitting near him and crew members sought to handcuff him before he lost consciousness. A doctor and nurse on board failed to revive him.

Cork police arrested a 44-year-old Portuguese woman traveling with the Brazilian man after discovering 2 kilograms (5 pounds) of suspected amphetamine powder in her suitcase.

The bitten passenger was admitted to a Cork hospital, while the other 165 passengers and six crew members traveled by bus to Dublin.

Man charged with punching flight attendant released on bond.
A man accused of punching a flight attendant and threatening to blow up a flight from New York City to Florida has been released on bond.

Local news media report that 29-year-old Alija Kucuk was released Monday on $50,000 bail and must wear a GPS ankle monitor.

Kucuk was on a JetBlue flight Thursday from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Palm Beach International Airport. Witnesses say Kucuk run down the aisle, pushed two flight attendants and punched a third. The witnesses say Kucuk also threatened to blow up the plane.

Kucuk, of Queens, New York, was charged with interfering with a flight attendant and threatening to destroy an aircraft. Arraignment is planned Oct. 30.

A telephone message left by The Associated Press with the Federal Public Defender wasn't immediately returned.