A 74-year-old Nevada man was charged with assaulting another passenger aboard a cruise ship en route to Hawaii from California. The 73-year-old victim had to be evacuated to Hilo via a military helicopter.

FBI agents arrested and charged John Mcavay on Monday.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard L. Puglisi granted Mcavay’s release today on signature bond pending further prosecution by the government.

The FBI says the assault happened aboard the Holland America Group Star Princess cruise liner on Oct. 23, when the ship was approximately 600 miles northeast of Hilo.

The 73-year-old man told the FBI when he opened a bathroom stall door on the seventh deck of the ship to exit, an agitated male confronted him. The two exchanged words and he was struck in the head as he was attempting to leave.

Mcavay told the FBI that he was the one in the bathroom stall and that the other passenger tried to enter it while he was still inside. He said the other passenger kicked him in the leg when he tried to push his way out. In response Mcavay told the FBI he hit the other passenger with his right hand.

A third passenger who was in the bathroom told the FBI he saw Mcavay punch the other passenger with a closed fist, and that the other passenger went down, hitting his head on the toilet. He said he tried to follow Mcavay but didn’t see which direction he went.

The injured passenger went by military helicopter to Hilo Medical Center on Oct. 25 as his condition worsened, then to The Queen’s Medical Center where doctors put him in an induced coma.

Other passengers identified Mcavay as the possible assailant when they saw him gesturing with his fist and overheard him at a luau telling his wife about the assault. Mcavay’s wife continued on the cruise back to Los Angeles after her husband was arrested.