United Airlines Flight Delayed After Pilot Forgets Passport Mid-Air

Goober Pilot Forgets Passport, Forces Plane Bound For China To Turn Around Mid-Flight

Two hours into the flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai, the United Airlines 787 pulled a U-turn and was redirected to San Francisco.

Pilots at SFO who forgot passports expose weird law

SFO pilots' lapses highlight that the Transportation Department doesn't have rules requiring airlines to compensate passengers for delays due to human error.

Pilot forgets passport, plane turns back

Passengers on United Airlines Flight 198 from Los Angeles to Shanghai experienced an unexpected and rather bizarre delay on Saturday after their pilot realised—mid-flight—that he’d left his passport behind. The flight had taken off from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) at around 1:47 pm local time, with 257 passengers and 13 crew members onboard. About two hours into the journey across… Source

Passenger plane forced to divert to another airport after pilot forgot passport

A United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai landed in San Francisco after two hours because of the blunder

There are many reasons why a plane can be diverted unexpectedly. Most often, it's a technical glitch or an aggressive passenger on board. However, a forced stop on a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai was caused by something a little more bizarre - a forgetful pilot who didn't bring his passport.

Pilot forgets passport on United Airlines flight to China

“The pilot did not have their passport onboard,” United Airlines said in a statement. “We arranged for a new crew to take our customers to their destination that evening."