United Airlines plane from LA to Sydney made emergency landing in American Samoa on New Year’s Eve
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A plane full of passengers traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney for the New Year Their hopes of celebration were dashed when the plane was forced to make an emergency landing in remote American Samoa, a chain of islands located between Hawaii and New Zealand.
Stranded for approximately 21 hours on the picturesque island of Tutuila, mMore than 300 United Airlines passengers reportedly received a tour of the island, drank beers on the beach and enjoyed a feast of McDonald’s fast food.
Before taking another flight back to Sydney early Sunday, the plane’s pilot, who reportedly had to to circle the island hour by hour since his runway has no lights, he even bought the weary travelers drinks in a show of apology.
The plane, identified as United Flight 839, landed at the Pago Pago airport around midnight Friday but was redirected to the islands, which are US territory, at 6:22 a.m. Friday due to a mechanical problem. , flight officials said.
More than 300 travelers were stranded in picturesque Pago Pago (pictured), where passengers spent 21 hours touring the island, drinking beers and eating fast food.
“Today’s flight was diverted to Pago Pago to fix a mechanical problem,” read a statement from the airline on Friday.
“We are making use of our facilities, including available hotel options, to accommodate our clients, and will be flying a new plane to the island so they can finish their trip to Sydney soon.”
Stranded in an environment that most would consider paradise, the passengers of the wayward flight found themselves without food upon landing in Pago Pago, the capital of the island of Tutuila.
Family members of the passengers were quick to take to Twitter to report in real time on the situation, with many saying the locals were looking after the passengers on board who thankfully welcomed the travelers kindly.
Family members of the passengers were quick to take to Twitter to report in real time on the situation, with many saying the locals were looking after the passengers on board who thankfully welcomed the travelers kindly. Some, however, criticized United for allowing the incident to take place.
“My daughter is now stranded,” one man wrote at 7:22 p.m. Saturday, 13 hours after the bizarre flight saga. “They (the passengers) showered in the hangar, took (a) tour of the island and (are) drinking beers on a deserted beach.”
A few hours earlier, a woman wrote that her family, including her young granddaughters, had also been on the flight. She also said that the people of Samoa were helping the passengers, but she questioned why the airline was not the one to address the issue.
He added that a replacement flight was expected in the early hours of New Year’s Day, meaning passengers would still miss the famous fireworks celebrations in Sydney Harbour.
“My son and granddaughters were on that flight,” the woman wrote at 4:42 p.m. Friday.
The passengers (pictured Saturday at the Pago Pago airport) were forced to spend almost a full day on the remote island, located between Hawaii and New Zealand.
“I just spoke to him and he told me that the Samoan (sic) people have been incredibly generous (as they always are) and that everyone is being taken care of before their early flight tomorrow morning.”
The concerned mom proceeded to tag United in her post, asking the airline, “Why the silence?”
Someone else added that they had also heard from a family member on the plane that the native population, as well as the flight crew, were helping the passengers.
‘My daughter was also on the flight, she said the islanders and crew were amazing in taking care of everyone. Thank God everyone is safe.
As the traveler’s troubles unfolded in real time, the relatives continued to shed new light on the bizarre incident, including how the plane was forced to spend hours circling the runway early Friday before landing because the runway was not open. it had enough lights for the ship. a Boeing 787 – to land safely.
The danger of the situation was further increased by the fact that the runway at Pago Pago International Airport, also known as Tafuna Airport, is only 10,000 feet, just 1,000 feet more than the 10,000 feet needed to receive such a large aircraft.
The father of a stranded passenger was quick to point it out.
“I’m grateful the runway is 10,000 feet as your Boeing 787 needs 9,000 feet,” he wrote around 7:30 p.m. Saturday, still more than seven hours before a rescue craft was chartered to rescue the man. cluster.
Another parent of a passenger revealed that the plane had been grounded because it had ‘lost one of its two engines’ and that ‘the plane had to circle around Pago Pago for an hour, until dawn, as the 10,000 foot runway has no lights.
“They had to go around the island until dawn,” he wrote. “We are blessed and the pilots and crew navigated the situation well. Children and passengers were well cared for by the islanders.
About 2,573 miles from Hawaii, Pago Pago is the capital of American Samoa, located in the heart of Polynesia.
Located in the South Pacific, it is an unincorporated US territory, making it a popular destination for those looking for a passport-free getaway to a tropical island.