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Home » United Airlines » How A Misplaced Laptop Led To A United Airlines 767-300 Diversion And 30-Hour Delay
NewsUnited Airlines

How A Misplaced Laptop Led To A United Airlines 767-300 Diversion And 30-Hour Delay

Matthew Klint Posted onMay 20, 2024May 20, 2024 22 Comments

an airplane on the runway

An abundance of caution concerning an “inaccessible” laptop computer led to a diversion and a 30-hour delay on a United Airlines 767-300 transatlantic flight.

United Airlines 767-300 Diverts Over “Inaccessible” Laptop

Electronic devices stuck in seats are a serious matter. That’s because if they catch fire (by being crushed or otherwise mutilated), they can produce a very hazardous situation onboard that endangers the lives of those onboard. First noted by PYOK, United erred on the side of caution when it came to a misplaced laptop that slid down into a business class seat during a transatlantic flight.

On Sunday, May 19, 2024, United 12 took off from Zurich (ZRH) bound for Chicago (ORD). The flight was operated by a Boeing 767-300 aircraft and departed at 9:46 am CET.

United advises passengers to alert crewmembers if an electronic device becomes stuck in a seat. On this flight, a laptop became stuck in a business class seat. Flight attendants were notified and tried, unsuccessfully, to remove it. The decision was therefore made to divert to avoid the possibility of a fire in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

The 767 made a U-turned and diverted to Shannon, Ireland (SNN). There, a member of ground staff quickly removed the laptop. However, by this point the crew had “timed out” meaning it could not legally complete the journey to Chicago due to maximum work hour rules. Thus, the flight was canceled, with passengers placed in hotels overnight.

a screenshot of an airplane

A replacement flight from Shanon to Chicago, UA3030, is en route and scheduled to land in Chicago this evening, roughly 30 hours behind schedule:

a screenshot of a flight schedule

United explained:

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. We’re working quickly to get customers to their final destination.

Note to self: don’t place my laptop on my seat when the meal is served, something I have done many times. There is a real risk that it can slide down the side and get stuck…

CONCLUSION

While the risk of a laptop fire was very low, United (under heightened FAA scrutiny) determined that a diversion was worth what was undoubtedly a high cost (to pay for meals and hotels of passengers and extra pay for crewmembers, plus the extra fuel). I think that was the right choice, but it highlights the importance of keeping our electronic devices in a safe place while onboard for our own sake for everyone onboard.

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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22 Comments

  1. Rich Reply
    May 20, 2024 at 12:55 pm

    You wrote “Flight attendants were notified and tried, successfully, to remove it.” Surely you mean “unsuccessfully”.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      May 20, 2024 at 1:49 pm

      Indeed.

      • Daniel T. Neson Reply
        May 20, 2024 at 2:41 pm

        “Indeed,” a man of few words. When I worked as a newspaper reporter, my editor would always caution us to be terse. He said the best sentence in the Bible is, “Jesus wept.”

  2. NedsKid Reply
    May 20, 2024 at 1:03 pm

    I’m trying to figure out where this laptop was that it got stuck and was not recoverable. Did the passenger then try moving the seat to get it, wedging it in more?

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      May 20, 2024 at 1:47 pm

      I think it probably slid down the side, which has happend to me. I’ve always been able to easily pull it out, but I can see it sliding down even further such that it would get stuck.

  3. Maryland Reply
    May 20, 2024 at 2:10 pm

    A few years ago a Samsung phone caught fire in the house ( while charging ). Fortunately I was only a few feet away and got it outside quickly. This diversion, while expensive and inconvenient was the correct choice.

  4. Dave Edwards Reply
    May 20, 2024 at 3:01 pm

    The bigger question is if the passenger should pay for the added expenses. At a minimum someone, or a few others, should beat the sh#t out of he or she or whatever they identify as. First class, laptop, overseas flight all add up to a “businessman”, so he or his company can afford it. Why should shareholders pay for this idiots actions?

    This is no different than someone getting drunk and causing a disturbance that causes a diversion. After all alcoholic is a disease, right?

    • James Harper Reply
      May 20, 2024 at 4:17 pm

      Business woman?

      I didn’t think Untied operated first class either oh, and accidents do happen. Presumably you’ve never dropped anything anywhere ever?

    • Bob Spoons Reply
      May 20, 2024 at 7:29 pm

      I have to wonder if you were drunk yourself when you wrote this comment. When you’re sober, and when you have a basic grasp of the English language (“alcoholic is a disease”?!), please feel free to come back and share more of your psychotic violent thoughts with us.

      • Will Reply
        May 21, 2024 at 1:04 am

        Spot on. A totally unhinged post denominated by absurd assumptions and terrible English: “beat the s/ out of he or she…”

  5. cy Reply
    May 20, 2024 at 7:35 pm

    I do think the passenger should have to pay for this. There carelessness caused this nonsense. Not so different than a guy/gal getting drunk and causing a diversion.

    • PolishKnight Reply
      May 20, 2024 at 9:29 pm

      Nonsense. Unless he was extremely negligent (such as putting the laptop into a slot to “store” it where it wasn’t meant to go), it was an accident caused by poor planning by whomever built the equipment.

      It was a costly lesson, but apparently this appears to have happened before. Just stopping it from happening again would pay for the effort for maintenance to put in glued foam down into the slots so stuff can’t slide down into it.

      It doesn’t help that so many “stylish” laptops put being thin over function. I’d rather a slightly thicker laptop that gets 20 hour battery life than one that dies at 3 hours but fits into an envelope.

      • Maryland Reply
        May 20, 2024 at 9:51 pm

        Agreed.

      • Kyle Lyles Reply
        May 20, 2024 at 10:05 pm

        Oh boy “IT Guy” weighs in with an incorrect point. Ultra thin laptops exist with 20 hr capacity.

        The interior vendor’s feedback should arrive in the form of a charge back and if they refuse to pay, loss of all future business.

      • Matthew Klint Reply
        May 20, 2024 at 11:15 pm

        100% agree @PolishKnight that there is no indication it was the passenger’s fault in this case.

        • Cy Reply
          May 20, 2024 at 11:48 pm

          Agree to disagree. It’s the passengers fault for being careless with their possession. It didn’t become stuck in the seat on its own. Someone put it there or let it slip into there or whatever.

          It’s your job to keep your stuff safe. If my passport falls into a seat crevice it’s not a poorly designed seat, it’s me being clumsy/careless

          • Matthew Klint
            May 21, 2024 at 8:35 am

            Fair enough.

  6. Sean M. Reply
    May 21, 2024 at 2:28 am

    Yet another safety issue with United and a Boeing. Does it ever end?

    • emercycrite Reply
      May 26, 2024 at 12:19 am

      How is this either? What a bizarre assertion.

  7. SENflyer Reply
    May 22, 2024 at 6:23 am

    ZRH-ORD is not such a long route (10 hours according to plan), so how could they have timed out?
    The only reason I could see is, that this route can be flown with a 2 person cockpit and with going back, refuling and the additional time needed, got them out of time.
    Maybe somebody knows.

    • 9volt Reply
      May 23, 2024 at 9:15 am

      Because maximum crew work time is 14 hours, under FAA rules. So given the “u-turn” flight time, the ground time, plus the flight resumption, they more than likely would have timed out.

  8. 9volt Reply
    May 23, 2024 at 9:10 am

    Not to self: If I ever drop my phone and/or laptop in the bowels of my business class seat, do not notify the crew until we land. I can survive without my device for a few hours.

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