As Sydney rings in the new year this hour, passengers on a United Airlines 787-9 flight from Los Angeles to Sydney are holding a very different and unexpected New Year’s celebration on Pago Pago in American Samoa.
United Airlines 787-9 Diverts To Pago Pago, American Samoa After Engine Issue
UA839 departed from Los Angeles (LAX) on Thursday night, December 29, 2022, and was set to land in Sydney (SYD) 15 hours later on Saturday morning due to the crossing of the international date line.
Cool Fact – The 839 flight number carried over from Pan Am when United acquired the route. When Pan Am operated a Boeing 707 on the route, it made a regularly-scheduled stop in Pago Pago.
But the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, N38955, did not make it that far: over the Pacific, a suspected oil leak forced the flight deck to shut off one of the engines. This occurred about seven hours into the flight near the small island nation of Kiribati. With no safe landing area nearby and poor weather in Fiji, the aircraft continued for just under three hours at a lower altitude until it diverted to Pago Pago (PPG), the capital of American Samoa located on Tutuila Island.
Acting swiftly, United canceled UA100 from Sydney to Houston (IAH) on December 31, 2002 (consolidating passengers on flights from Sydney to San Francisco and Los Angeles) and dispatched that plane and crew and to Pago Pago.
Originally, UA2795 was scheduled to leave Sydney at 11:20 am, arriving in Pago Pago at 6:54 pm on December 30th (because American Samoa lies west of the international date line), but that section was canceled and UA2796 took off at 5:03 pm, arriving into Pago Pago at 12:50 am.
That plane, N24979, is now en route to Sydney with passengers onboard, operating as UA3032. It will reach Sydney at 7:05 am local time on New Year’s Day.
What Did United Passengers Do During Pago Pago Layover?
Passengers were welcomed into the American territory with reports of passengers offered local beer and being given a tour of the island during their 21-hour “layover.”
The father of one passenger shared on Twitter:
My daughter is now stranded, United decided to fly another plane in from LAX…should depart 3am 12/31 Pago Pago time. They showered at hanger, got tour of Island and drinking beers on deserted beach.
— Rick Lechtman (@rlechtman) December 31, 2022
Glad they are safe and the islanders treated them very well!
— Rick Lechtman (@rlechtman) December 31, 2022
A United spokesperson confirmed that passengers were taken care of during their layover:
“We’re making use of our facilities, including available hotel options, to accommodate our customers, and will fly in a new aircraft to the island so they can finish their trip to Sydney soon.”
CONCLUSION
It seems to me United handled the incident very well and while the passengers onboard may have missed the fireworks over Darling Harbour, they had a very memorable New Year’s celebration in a very unexpected place (even though they technically missed it altogether due to the dateline issue). While UA839 probably could have made it all the way to Sydney, this was the safer move.
I hope this event puts to rest the myth that only older or old aircraft in the UA fleet suffer malfunctions and breakdowns, thus have to be replaced immediately. I am looking at you B 767 300 ER and older 777-200 . For god’s sake, this aircraft is ONLY 7 years old and look what happened. Machines are man made, they break down, they malfunction. It’s ok. They then get fixed and repaired. Let’s stop thinking that only the older UA equipment breaks down and has to be thrown out immediately. It’s just not real.
I think it’s more the accumulated mechanical stresses on the airframe that’s the concern with older planes. Everything else can be repaired or replaced, old or new.
Well that’s exactly my point, as long as the airframe is not affected by corrosion, they’re good to go. Take for example that UA 777-200 whose engine exploded right after takeoff from DEN. That was one of their older models , however, it was the engine that was the problem. It got fixed. And that airframe is still active as of today.
Also keep in mind this is the 2nd 787-9 to divert in the past few months. We had LHR-SFO divert to YFB. They did a great job handling both of those, sending rescue planes in right away, and it seems like the passengers at both places weren’t all that upset. Obviously Pago Pago sounds like a cooler place to divert than some freezing tundra in Canada but still well done in both cases.
You would think they would but on their bathing suit and walk right to the beach…
I used to go to Pago Pago several times a year for business. I can tell you that this diversion would have had everyone on the island out to the airport. But hotel facilities would be really strained to accommodate at 787 full of people. But st least the passengers will have a great story to tell.
They handled the passengers well, but being forced to shut off one of two engines, flying over water, is a serious matter, and warrants an investigation and a public explanation, once the investigation is complete.
HIGH MARKS TOUNITED AIRLINES, FOR MAKING THIS DIVERSION AS PAINLESS AS POSSIBLE FOR PASSENGERS AND ITS CREW AS POSSIBLE.
HANDLED WITH PROFESSIONALISM.
M.C. ROSIE ROSENSTEIN
SPRING HILL FLORIDA
PAN AM 1958-1991