A packed United Airlines flight bound for Mexico was forced to turn back to San Francisco International Airport on Thursday morning after blowing a tire during takeoff.
United Flight 1189, a Boeing 737-800 carrying 165 passengers and eight crew members, touched down at SFO without incident around 11:45 a.m, according to NBC.
No injuries were reported, and United quickly arranged a replacement aircraft to get everyone to Los Cabos later in the afternoon.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the cause of the blown tire.
Back in June, another United Airlines flight bound for San Francisco was forced to make an unscheduled landing in Japan after an unruly passenger allegedly caused chaos mid-flight, triggering a police response and hours-long delays.
Passengers said the travel nightmare unfolded shortly after takeoff, when the passenger’s behavior rapidly spiraled.
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United Flight UA858 took off from Shanghai Pudong Airport at 12:43 p.m. aboard a Boeing 777-300 with 285 passengers and 16 crew members on board.
About two hours into the trans-Pacific trip, the crew diverted the jet to Tokyo Narita Airport, where it touched down.
Once the plane was on the ground, at least seven officers from the Chiba Prefectural Police boarded the aircraft and escorted the Chinese-speaking passenger at the center of the disturbance off the flight.
“She tossed all the documents in her seat pockets in the air, shouted cuss words periodically, and also periodically started hitting herself,” one witness said.
The same account described confrontations with cabin crew, including claims that the passenger accused staff of trying to “oppress” her.
During one interaction, a purser attempted to intervene but was reportedly met with physical resistance.
After landing in Tokyo, police escorted the passenger off the aircraft.
Several travelers said there was confusion onboard about the removal.
“Personally, I felt it was a mix of misunderstanding, overreaction, and mismanagement from both sides,” one passenger said.
