Passengers heading to China aboard a recent United Airlines flight faced an unexpected travel headache after a pilot’s forgotten passport prompted their return to the United States.
Flight UA198 from Los Angeles to Shanghai was over the Pacific Ocean on Saturday afternoon when it made a U-turn and headed to San Francisco, tracking data showed.
United confirmed on Tuesday to AFP in an email that the plane, a Boeing 787 with 270 people onboard, made a stop in San Francisco “as the pilot did not have their passport onboard”.
This has to be the pilot version of that nightmare where you’re back in high school and also naked. Maybe some teeth falling out too.
Edit: based on the FlightAware log it looks like they were maybe an hour and a half out when the pilot realized they fucked up. Better than right before landing, I guess?
As a passenger, I’d rather land at the destination