ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A man faces a felony assault charge for an unprovoked attack on a fellow passenger who was sleeping during a cross-country flight last week, according to authorities.

An FBI agent said Everett Chad Nelson punched the other man repeatedly in the face and head, leaving the man bleeding, before another passenger pulled him off the victim and crew members helped restrain him.

The attack on a United Airlines flight Monday from San Francisco to Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia lasted about a minute. There was no indication that Nelson knew the victim, who was not identified, the FBI affidavit said. There have been over 1,700 reports of unruly passengers on planes this year. — Associated Press