A definitely exceptional New Year’s Eve for the 214 passengers on board the flight United Los Angeles-Sydney. Due to an engine oil leak, the plane actually had to make an emergency landing on an island in the middle of the Pacific.
Because mechanical problem and subsequent landing, the passengers actually skipped New Year’s Eve as they were ahead of time due to the time difference.
It all begins on the night of December 29-30, when the United Airlines Boeing 787 takes off from Los Angeles Airport for Sydney, Australia. 214 people on board (48 in Business Class, 17 in Premium Economy and 149 in Economy).
Due to the oil leak detected in one of the engines while driving, the pilot began all procedures to: a emergency landing and the plane was diverted to Pago Pago Air Terminal in American Samoa in the middle of the Pacific.
The island of Tutuila where it is located i pay i pay, lies east of the International Date Line, which is why there was a time jump of a full 24 hours. In practice, passengers were “catapulted” from 3:29 a.m. on the night of December 31st to 3:30 a.m. on the night of January 1st. So no New Year’s Eve celebrations.
Aside from the fear of the emergency landing, a situation that always creates a bit of fear, some people on board the plane protested precisely because they did not have the opportunity to celebrate the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023. Others, however, readily embraced the story and expressed excitement at the sudden change of plans.
Landed in Pago Pago, passengers had the opportunity to circumnavigate the island. Not a toast to Sydney Harbor like many had planned, but it sure was New Year’s quite original.
United Airlines recognized the situation and sent a second Boeing 787 to rescue the passengers. The flight that departed from Australia actually returned time. All boarding procedures started within hours, but as the plane took off and crossed the international line, it was catapulted forward on January 1st. The passengers arrived in Australia at 6.52am on January 1, 2023.