The incident occurred on a Qantas Airways flight to Dallas, Texas on Friday, May 15
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NEED TO KNOW
- A man has been banned from flying with Qantas Airways after he allegedly bit a crew member during a flight from Melbourne, Australia, to Dallas
- The passenger appears drunk in videos of the incident as he stumbles out of the bathroom and becomes aggressive toward those nearby
- The plane was ultimately diverted to Tahiti, where the man was escorted off the aircraft
A plane heading toward the U.S. was forced to take a detour after a passenger allegedly bit a flight attendant.
On Friday, May 15, a Qantas flight traveling from Melbourne, Australia, to Dallas, Texas, was diverted to Tahiti after a man who appeared to be drunk emerged from the bathroom and exhibited disruptive behavior toward flight attendants.
In a video shared on Facebook by comedian Mike Goldstein, the man can be seen stumbling out of the bathroom while still fastening his belt.
“I've been trying to open the f—ing door,” the man told a crew member, appearing to slur his speech with 11 hours still left in the 18-hour flight.
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While holding the door to the bathroom open for the man, the crew member warned him to “keep the language down.”
“There's kids around everywhere,” the flight attendant said. “You're acting immature. You have to behave yourself, you're on a plane.”
After looking around for a few moments, the man proceeded to ask the crew member if he was “smoking weed” before losing his balance, flailing around the aisle and repeatedly telling him to “f–k off.”
As the confrontation escalated, the man can be seen in the video taking his glasses off and becoming physically aggressive toward two of the crew members.
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According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the flight was diverted to Tahiti after the man allegedly bit one of the crew members and a fellow passenger who had helped restrain him.
"The safety of our customers and our crew is our number one priority and we have zero tolerance for disruptive or threatening behavior on our flights," a Qantas spokesperson told the outlet.
Upon landing in Papeete, the plane was met by authorities. The disruptive passenger was escorted off the aircraft and issued a no-fly ban by Qantas, according to The Guardian and 9 News.
The plane was then refueled and resumed its journey to Dallas, per the outlets. It arrived a few hours behind schedule on Saturday morning.
Qantas and the Tahitian Police did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's requests for comment.
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