A United flight from Los Angeles to Sydney was forced to divert due to a technical issue.
The Boeing 787-9 (reg. N38955) departed at 23.24 local time from Los Angeles (LAX) airport for a 15-hour flight.
But in the middle of the flight, the crew reported an issue with the right engine.
- UPDATE Rescue flight landed in Sydney at about 7.00 local time.
- UPDATE Passengers were offered a tour of the island and drank beers on the beach. Waiting for the rescue plane at 3am to Sydney.
- UPDATE United is sending another plane to Pago Pago to rescue stranded passengers. which resulted in SYD-LAX being cancelled (as well as SYD-IAH and IAH-SYD). Passengers will not be home for new year eve.
The flight #UA839 was forced to divert to Pago Pago (PPG) in the middle of the Pacific.
United #UA839 from Los Angeles to Sydney diverted to Pago Pago in the middle of the Pacific due to right engine issuehttps://t.co/es2ZuhExaB pic.twitter.com/KQMiQh5Jev
— AIRLIVE (@airlivenet) December 30, 2022
Passengers are waiting for a spare plane to fly to Sydney but probably too late for New year Eve.
Pago Pago International Airport, also known as Tafuna Airport, is a public airport located on the island of Tutuila in American Samoa, an unincorporated territory of the United States.