Man accused of raping woman on flight to London

A man has been arrested on allegations that he raped a woman on a United Airlines flight from Newark, N.J., to London last week, according to police, NBC News reported.

Officers met the flight when it arrived at London’s Heathrow Airport and arrested a 40-year-old man on suspicion of rape, though he was later released “under investigation,” London’s Metropolitan Police said, according to NBC. 

The woman who made the accusation, also 40 years old, is “being supported by specialist officers and enquiries are ongoing,” police said, according to NBC.

A United Airlines spokesperson told NBC that the flight crew called ahead of the passengers disembarking to alert police “as soon as they became aware of these allegations.” 

London’s Metropolitan Police said authorities were alerted to an incident on the flight on Jan. 31 at about 6:30 a.m. local time, according to the outlet.

The airline said it will continue to cooperate with law enforcement.