United Airlines has suffered a series of incidents in recent weeks, including on Monday when a flight bound for Japan had to return to the gate at San Francisco International Airport.
Flight UA35 was scheduled to leave for Osaka at 12:05 p.m. local time, but the Boeing 777-200 aircraft returned to the gate after taxiing on the runway for more than an hour. Passengers and crew disembarked at about 1:45 p.m.
The incident marked at least the 10th of its kind involving United Airlines in March alone. It also took place on the same day that United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby emailed customers a message meant to assuage fears about the airline’s safety.
San Francisco was the site of the highest number of incidents, with four departing flights experienced issues since March 4. Three other flights where San Francisco was the destination city also reported problems, including when a Boeing 777-300 returned to Sydney, Australia, because of a maintenance issue.
Newsweek reached out to United Airlines via email on Tuesday for comment about the recent incidents.
Below is a timeline of the 10 known incidents United Airlines has suffered in recent weeks:
- March 4: A flight from Houston to Fort Myers, Florida, made an emergency landing after an engine fire.
- March 4: The same day as the engine fire, another United Airlines plane bound for San Francisco from Honolulu experienced engine failure mid-flight, but it landed safely.
- March 7: A plane bound for Osaka, Japan, from San Francisco lost a tire during take-off.
- March 8: A flight from San Francisco to Mexico City made an emergency landing in Los Angeles because of a hydraulics problem.
- March 8: A second incident the same day as the emergency landing in Los Angeles saw a United Airlines aircraft roll off a runway before getting stuck in grass at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas.
- March 9: A plane heading for Salt Lake City was forced to return to Chicago O’Hare International Airport because of a maintenance problem.
- March 11: A flight bound for San Francisco had to return to Sydney, Australia, because of a maintenance issue.
- March 14: A plane from Dallas-Fort Worth arrived at San Francisco with a “small amount of smoke” and a hydraulic leak.
- March 15: A United Airlines plane that flew from San Francisco to Oregon was found to be missing an external panel upon landing.
- March 18: A United Airlines flight bound for Osaka, Japan, was grounded at San Francisco International Airport due to a mechanical failure.
Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.