Summary

• A United Airlines flight diverted to Shannon, Ireland, due to a laptop being stuck in a seat.
• Engineers were unsuccessful at retrieving the laptop from the cabin and had to access it from the cargo hold.
• Passengers were provided hotel accommodations after the flight was subsequently canceled.

More than 150 people traveling from Zurich, Switzerland, to Chicago on United Airlines were stuck in Shannon, Ireland, on Sunday after a rather unfortunate incident involving a passenger’s laptop. The computer reportedly became wedged in a seat on the long-haul flight, which was operated by a Boeing 767-300ER.

The aircraft was already flying over the Atlantic when the crew decided to turn back east and divert to the nearest feasible airport. Due to the unexpected rerouting, the pilots reportedly had to prepare for an overweight landing.

Flight path

According to The Aviation Herald, the 767-300ER, registered as N663UA, was operating UA12 from Zurich Airport (ZRH) to Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) on Sunday. Data from FlightAware shows the aircraft departed from gate E43 four minutes early at 09:46. It taxied to Runway 16, where it took off at 10:08. Once airborne about 2,000 feet, the plane turned east and continued its climb. About six minutes later, N663UA was just north of St. Gallen and turned north, flying over Lake Constance.

As it reached 22,000 feet, the aircraft finally turned northwest and climbed to 32,000 feet (FL320). It maintained FL320 for nearly two hours thereafter, as it passed over England, Wales, the Irish Sea, and Ireland at around 550 miles per hour. About two hours and twelve minutes into the flight, the plane climbed to 34,000 feet.

Around 30 minutes to an hour later, flight data shows an estimate of the aircraft turning course. According to The Clare Herald, the 767-300ER was about 500 miles northwest of the coast of Ireland when the pilots decided to turn around. Cabin crew were reportedly advised of the laptop issue earlier in the flight, but could not retrieve the computer from the seat. As a result, the flight crew alerted air traffic controllers of their request to divert to Shannon so that the laptop could be safely removed from the seat. Additionally, they informed ATC that they would be making an overweight landing, The Clare Herald reported.

Diverting to Shannon

Four hours into the flight, the plane neared Ireland and began its descent. N663UA landed safely at Shannon Airport (SNN) at 13:51 – about 90 minutes after the pilots’ decision to divert, according to The Aviation Herald. Due to the overweight landing, the airport’s Fire and Rescue Service was reportedly on standby and followed the aircraft from the runway to the terminal.

A United spokesperson confirmed the incident in a statement to Simple Flying on Sunday.

“United flight 12 scheduled from Zurich to Chicago landed safely in Shannon to address a potential safety risk caused by a laptop being stuck in an inaccessible location.”

Finding the laptop

Engineers boarded the aircraft to retrieve the computer but were not successful. Instead, ground workers had to remove cargo from the forward cargo hold to locate the laptop, which was situated beneath the cabin, according to The Clare Herald. It was later retrieved safely after crews removed the panelling to reach it.

UA12 was expected to depart SNN at around 14:40 to resume the journey to ORD, but the flight was subsequently canceled. Due to flight crew duty time limitations, the aircraft remained on the ground for the remainder of the day. United accommodated the passengers and confirmed that the flight would continue on Monday.

“We provided hotel accommodations for customers and arranged for a new aircraft to take them to their destination tomorrow,” the spokesperson said.

Although the spokesperson commented that “a new aircraft” would transport the affected passengers on Monday, flight data shows that N663UA is expected to operate as UA3030, departing from SNN at 13:30 and arriving at ORD at 15:25.

Lithium batteries power most electronic devices, including laptops. If the battery becomes damaged, it can overheat and catch fire, which poses a severe safety risk to aircraft. The concern is the reason passengers cannot place any computers, e-cigarettes, or other lithium battery-powered devices in checked baggage.

• 

  Chicago O'Hare International Airport

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  ORD/KORD

  CEO:

  Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) Commissioner Jamie Rhee

  Runways :

  4L/22R - 2,286m (7500 ft) | 4R/22L - 2,461m (8075 ft) | 9L/27R - 2,286m (7500 ft) | 9C/27C - 3,428m (11,245 ft) | 9R/27L - 2,428m (7,967 ft) | 10L/28R - 3,962m (13,000 ft) | 10C/28C - 3,292m (10,801 ft) | 10R/28L - 2,286m (7500 ft)

  Airlines:

  American Airlines, United Airlines

  Country:

  United States

  Passenger Count :

  54,020,339 (2021)

  Terminals:

  Terminal 1 | Terminal 2 | Terminal 3 | Terminal 5