Over 200 passengers left stranded as a San Francisco to London flight makes a sharp mid-air U-turn. Boeing finds itself at the center of yet another in-flight technical mess.
A United Airlines flight from San Francisco to London Heathrow made an abrupt return mid-journey after a technical malfunction forced the crew to abort the transatlantic crossing. Operated by a Boeing 777-200ER, the aircraft turned back near the U.S.-Canada border, marking yet another blow to Boeing’s already troubled reputation.
Flight UA948, which took off from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) at 4:41 p.m. PT on July 15, was halfway through its route when the cockpit received alerts of an unspecified issue. Flight data from FlightAware showed the jet performing a wide loop near Winnipeg, before heading back to California. The flight finally landed just after midnight, leaving passengers exhausted after an eight-hour ordeal that led them nowhere.
The airline issued a message via its mobile app, saying the return was a precautionary measure due to a technical glitch. While no one was injured, passengers described the event as frustrating, with many learning of the issue only after the aircraft began its turn.
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The 15-year-old aircraft was pulled from service following the incident. A backup flight scheduled for 1:18 a.m. Wednesday was also canceled, dashing hopes for a same-day reroute. “Your flight is canceled because we needed to take the plane out of service to address a technical issue,” read a note on United’s website. “Your safety is our priority, and we’re sorry for the inconvenience.”
This is the second such Boeing-related scare involving United Airlines this month. On July 7, flight UA82 from Newark to Delhi, operated on a Boeing 787-9, also turned back mid-flight due to a cooling system failure in the electronics bay. That aircraft, too, landed without injuries, but questions surrounding Boeing’s reliability are beginning to stack.
With repeated diversions, cancellations, and critical system failures, traveler confidence in Boeing's long-haul aircraft continues to go down. For passengers onboard UA948, what began as a routine trip across the Atlantic ended in a long night of delays and unanswered questions.
