China-bound flight returns to Seattle after passenger assaults crew member

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A Delta Air Lines flight bound for Beijing returned to Seattle on Thursday after a passenger in the first-class cabin assaulted a crew member before being subdued by other travelers, a Seattle-Tacoma International Airport spokesman said.

Two people were sent for medical treatment for non-life-threatening injuries after the plane landed safely shortly after 7 p.m., airport spokesman Perry Cooper said.

The unruly male passenger was taken into custody by local law enforcement assisted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cooper said.

Delta flight 129 departed Seattle-Tacoma International Airport at around 5:30 p.m., but headed back to Seattle roughly 45 minutes into the flight, Cooper said.

Cooper said the man assaulted a flight attendant in the first-class cabin, but he had no further details on what triggered the incident. He said it was not a national security matter.

(Source: Reuters)