A United Airlines flight bound for San Francisco from Incheon International Airport caused a stir when it had to return due to mass food poisoning among the pilot and crew.
According to Maeil Business on the 20th, United Airlines Flight UA806 departed from Incheon Airport around 11:30 am on the 19th. However, the aircraft turned around after flying near Sendai in northeastern Japan due to the entire airline crew falling sick from food poisoning.
A passenger on the flight posted a video on social media showing a crew member apologizing over the in-flight broadcast.
The crew member explained, “The plane will be returning to Incheon because the crew members and pilots have fallen sick after eating some food, leaving us with no other options.” They assured the passengers saying, “Once we arrive at the gate, the ground staff will be available for assistance. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
According to Incheon Airport, the official reason for the return is listed as miscellaneous.
The aviation industry typically does not list reasons such as mechanical failures under miscellaneous, but problems such as food poisoning are marked as such.
A passenger on the flight described the situation on social media, saying, “The plane was shaking heavily.”
According to the aircraft tracking site Flightradar24, the plane departed again for San Francisco at around 12:05 pm on the 20th.