Paul Chinn/The Chronicle 2020
A United Airlines flight to Hawaii was forced to return to San Francisco International Airport on Tuesday due to a concern with the aircraft’s equipment.
The crew of United Flight 1273, a 24-year-old Boeing 777-200, bound for Kahului Airport in Maui terminated its climb at approximately 11,000 feet.
Aviation records show that the flight crew requested a descent to 10,000 feet before circling back to SFO just 75 minutes after its 9:27 a.m. departure. The aircraft remained in a holding pattern for several minutes before landing.
A United Airlines spokesperson stated that the plane returned to San Francisco “to evaluate a maintenance issue” without providing additional details.
All 343 passengers and 10 flight crew safely deplaned and continued their journey on a replacement Boeing 777-200 after a delay of approximately 5½ hours.
The initial aircraft remained grounded at SFO as of Thursday morning.