Woman says she was raped on flight out of Newark, NJ airport

A conversation in a bar at Newark Liberty Airport led to a rape on board a London-bound flight on Jan. 31, police said.

The man and woman who are both 40-year-old and from Britain were sitting in separate rows in business class on board the flight, according to the British news publication The Sun. Witnesses told The Sun the two were talking and laughing prior to takeoff.

As other passengers slept the man sexually allegedly assaulted the woman who was said to be visibly upset alerted the flight crew, according to The Sun. The captain notified police who were waiting when the flight arrived at Heathrow Airport in London.

"Our crew called ahead and notified the local authorities as soon as they became aware of these allegations. We will cooperate with law enforcement on any investigation," a spokesman for United Airlines told New Jersey 101.5.

The man was arrested on suspicion of rape while the victim spoke with police in a special area of the airport.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ