United Airlines passenger accused of sexually assaulting woman during flight

A man was arrested after allegedly raping a woman seated in business class on a United Airlines flight from Newark, New Jersey to London.

The woman claims the 40-year old passenger assaulted her while others around them slept, according to the British newspaper The Sun.

The victim alerted the flight crew, who subsequently notified police, according to the newspaper.

London’s Metropolitan Police told U.S. news outlets that they were alerted to an incident on an inbound flight on Jan. 31.

“Officers met the aircraft on arrival and arrested a 40-year-old man on suspicion of rape,” the police said in a statement to Newsweek, adding that the man had been released under investigation.

“Our crew called ahead and notified the local authorities as soon as they became aware of these allegations,” A United spokesperson said. “We will cooperate with law enforcement on any investigation.”