Passengers on a United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Rome found themselves unexpectedly landing in Sacramento following a reported mechanical issue. The airline has confirmed that flight UA507, which took off just before 4:30 p.m. yesterday, had to be diverted to Sacramento International Airport, as shared by ABC10.
Although United Airlines did not to immediately specify the nature of the mechanical issue, passengers were informed that there was trouble with the left engine overheating. "We were told over the PA that there were some problems with the left engine, that it was overheating, so they had shut it down, and that they were diverting us to Sacramento airport," passenger Cecilia Sousa told KCRA 3. Information from Flight Aware indicated that the Boeing 777 did not leave California airspace before the diversion took place.
The airline has relayed that the plane, carrying 148 passengers and 14 crew members, landed safely and efforts were underway to rebook the travelers on their way to Rome. A video from LiveCopter 3 showed the discharged passengers being shuttled by bus on the ramp, with United crews inspecting what was later revealed to be the number two engine of the jet.
While some inconvenience is inevitably associated with such unforeseen diversions, the passengers appeared to stay calm under the circumstances. "There was nothing to alert us, as far as anything to feel that something was really off," Sousa added in her statement to KCRA 3. Following the incident, all passengers were flown back to San Francisco the same night, landing after 10:30 p.m. The aircraft in question, a 25-year-old Boeing 777-222 with Pratt & Whitney PW4000 Series turbo-fan engines, had its first flight in 1999, as per FAA records.
Further coverage of the incident and updates on the subsequent travel arrangements can be found on both ABC10 and KCRA 3.
