(The State) – A United Airlines flight was forced to land in South Carolina after a man bit a passenger’s ear and punched him in the face, officials said. John Yurkovich Jr., 45, was arrested after a doctor on the plane tried to sedate him with a shot of Benadryl on Wednesday, according to the Charleston County Aviation Authority Police Department.
Officials said the chaotic scene broke out on flight 728, which was scheduled to travel from Newark, New Jersey, to Miami. In a statement to McClatchy News, United Airlines confirmed the plane was diverted “due to a disruptive passenger.”
During the flight, Yurkovich started to become “agitated” and “restless” after a trip to the restroom, airport police said in an incident report. “The suspect got up from his seat again to retrieve what appeared to be pills from his carry-on bag in one of the overhead bins,” officials said.
“The suspect then sat back down in his seat and began to scream and thrash around.” Yurkovich is accused of taking off his face mask and yelling in the face of the person seated next to him. When that passenger raised his arm to protect himself, police said, Yurkovich punched him several times, breaking his glasses. The same passenger “was bleeding excessively from his ear,” which required seven stitches, according to an FBI criminal complaint. READ MORE
