Aer Lingus traveller bit another passenger and then died

Benjamin SnyderBy Benjamin SnyderManaging Editor
Benjamin SnyderManaging Editor

Benjamin Snyder is Fortune's managing editor, leading operations for the newsroom.

Prior to rejoining Fortune, he was a managing editor at Business Insider and has worked as an editor for Bloomberg, LinkedIn and CNBC, covering leadership stories, sports business, careers and business news. He started his career as a breaking news reporter at Fortune in 2014.

BRITAIN-IRELAND-AVIATION-TAKEOVER-BUSINESS-IAG
An Aer Lingus flight taxis at Dublin Airport in Ireland on January 27, 2015. Irish carrier Aer Lingus on Tuesday backed a 1.35-billion-euro ($1.51-billion) takeover bid from International Airlines Group, parent of British Airways and Iberia, in a deal aimed at slashing costs. AFP PHOTO / PAUL FAITH (Photo credit should read PAUL FAITH/AFP/Getty Images)
Photograph by Paul Faith — AFP/Getty Images

A 24-year-old traveller on an Aer Lingus flight from Portugal to Ireland reportedly bit a fellow passenger and then died.

The Independent reported Monday that the unnamed passenger died from a seizure, causing the Aer Lingus flight to head to Cork Airport on Sunday.

The publication spoke with John Leonard, a passenger on the flight. “Horrible. I would say a very violent end – to die that way in the back of an aeroplane, it’s not right. It was not very pleasant at all,” he said.

A passenger was reportedly bitten after trying to restrain the unruly traveller.

“After that it got worse I would say, his seizure seemed to get worse. He was actually on the ground shaking violently,” said Leonard in the interview.

A Portuguese woman on the flight was arrested due to drug offense suspicions, although it’s unclear if she has any connection with the deceased passenger.

For more on travel, Fortune covered Ryanair, another Irish airline, earlier this year.