A United Airlines flight was heading to Orlando International Airport from San Francisco International Airport on Thursday afternoon when the passengers on the aircraft had to deplane due to a potential threat. The reason for this situation has now been revealed.
A cause for concern
United flight 2167 was scheduled due to depart San Francisco at 14:00 on June 22nd. However, the passengers had to leave the Boeing 737-924ER after the pilot announced a threat on the aircraft.
SFGATE has spoken about details that reporter Chris Beale shared. The 737 was sitting on the ground following reports from numerous passengers that they received inappropriate photos.
Delayed passengers
Ultimately, photos of an Airsoft gun were being shared through AirDrop, a popular document sharing function available on Apple devices. It has now been revealed that a teenager on the flight shared the images.
Thus, the passengers had to all deplane for the narrowbody to be cleared and inspected for a potential threat. The travelers then all had to go through security again, apart from the teenager, which was not allowed back on the flight.
The weapon in the picture reportedly did not belong to the prankster. However, he managed to still disrupt operations and cause a three-hour delay.
According to RadarBox.com, the plane departed SFO at 17:12 to arrive at MCO at 01:03 the following morning. Undoubtedly, there would have been many frustrated passengers arriving at their destination way after midnight.
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A word from United
SFGATE shares that a United spokesperson confirmed that the trip was delayed amid a security issue involving a passenger. The Chicago-based carrier added that authorities were notified about the situation.
N75429, the 737 that was involved in the delay, was delivered to Continental Airlines in December 2008, three years before the merger with United. According to ch-aviation, this unit is one of 126 737-900ERs in the operator’s fleet. Presently, 122 of them are active, leaving only 14 on the ground.
The airline will be happy with this ratio following the significant downturn last year. Domestic action across the US has notably picked up in recent months.
The company is also expecting a strong long-haul return next year as international travel opens up. Nonetheless, United will be keen to clamp down on delays such as this Thursday’s to ensure operations run safely and smoothly.
Simple Flying reached out to United Airlines for further comment on the incident. We will update the article with any additional announcements from the airline.
What are your thoughts about the passengers on this United Airlines flight deplaning on Thursday? What do you make of the cause of the event in San Francisco? Let us know what you think of the overall situation in the comment section.
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