On August 6th, 2024, a United Airlines Boeing 777-200 wide-body, registration N215UA, was operating flight UA1273 from San Francisco to Maui, when it encountered technical issues shortly after takeoff. The flight, onboard the 24 year old plane, departed from San Francisco’s runway 28L.
The flight crew reported a battery-related warning light and requested to level off at 11,000 feet. Shortly after, the crew requested to descend to 10,000 feet as a safety precaution. It remained near that altitude for about one hour while the flight crew worked their maintenance lists.
Upon further identifying the battery issue, the aircraft returned safely to San Francisco International Airport, landing on runway 28L approximately 75 minutes after its initial departure for Maui.
This particular aircraft is no stranger to Hawaii, having flown eleven flights to and from Hawaii, both Honolulu and Maui, in just the past week. The plane was delivered to United in August 2000, and has been in service except for when it was stored from February 2021 to September 2022.
Passengers were transferred to an available replacement of the same aircraft type, Boeing 777-200, which departed for Kahului following a delay of about five and a half hours. Meanwhile, the affected aircraft remained grounded in San Francisco for further inspection and maintenance, and was reported to still be on the ground one day after its return although it is currently preparing for a late departure to Denver.
Prior United Airlines Hawaii diversion incident.
The last United Airlines diversion we wrote about was on March 6th, 2024. United Hawaii Flight 214: Engine Failure Drama Mid-Pacific detailed an incident where a United Airlines Boeing 757-300 suffered an engine failure mid-flight from Honolulu to San Francisco. The flight declared an emergency and it too returned safely to San Francisco.
This incident highlights the importance of onboard safety systems and airline protocols that allow flight crews to respond effectively to technical issues like this. United Airlines has not released any additional details about the specifics of the battery problem, but maintenance teams are conducting a thorough examination to ensure the aircraft’s safety and reliability before returning the plane to service including Hawaii.
Hat tips to Aviation Herald and FlightAware.
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SOP. Probably a no-go item because battery power is essential if there’s an emergency. The FL 10 stop was to burn off enough fuel to get the A/C weight down to max landing weight. This A/C uses very little DC (battery sourced) in flight. Both engines have multiple A/C generators that provide all the electricity needed. Like your house uses. The batteries are used in emergencies and to start the APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) which starts the engines using high pressure air. A/C age is irrelevant. Each component has its own maintenance schedule. This event is Not newsworthy IMHO.
It is newsworthy in that the proper protocols were followed, the a/c made a successful return to SFO, and the a/c was back on line after a 24-hr maintenance review. Good news !!
Glad everyone is safe. Mechanical issues are always scary. I was on one on United in March that diverted.
Is it just me or does it seem that UAL has more than its share of these?
I’m not an aviation expert, but my recollection is that these particular style 777-200s, with the 2-4-2 business class configuration and alternate reverse seating rows, were originally part of Continental’s fleet before Continental and United merged. I would hope that as UAs recent massive orders start showing up in service, UA will permanently retire these oldies.
“Old” has been mentioned and “possibly flew for Continental” was mentioned as well …
But nope — United Airlines Boeing 777-200, registration N215UA was delivered as a brand spankin’ new airplane to UAL in Aug 2000. United is the one and only airline that has flown her.
And problems such as this one happen – and sometimes to brand spankin’ new airplanes.
That’s why we always want a “good crew” up front and it looks as if this flight crew did their job correctly and professionally.
BZ (‘Bravo Zulu’) … Navy speak for “well done”.
It’s very normal. Nobody was in danger. Simply an inconvenience.
Glad it worked out okay. But a 5.5-hour delay at United’s hub seems quite an inconvenience. I hope the passengers received some compensation.
Glad to hear everyone landed safely. Kudos to the crew for handling the situation calmly and professionally!
Those 777-200s are OLD planes.
Hi Keoki.
Thanks. We updated that with the aircraft’s age.
Aloha.