Plane turns around after pilot forgets passport

United Airlines jetliner taxis down a runway for take off at Denver International Airport Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

A United Airlines 787 flying from Los Angeles to China had to turn around this weekend after it was discovered one of the pilots had taken off without their passport, the airline told CNN in a statement.

Flight 198 departed LAX at 2 p.m. Saturday with 257 passengers and 13 crew onboard and headed northwest over the Pacific Ocean, bound for Shanghai.

Two hours later, the plane turned around and headed for San Francisco, where it landed around 5 p.m., according to the website FlightAware.

“The pilot did not have their passport onboard,” United said in a statement. “We arranged for a new crew to take our customers to their destination that evening. Customers were provided with meal vouchers and compensation.”

The new crew took off around 9 p.m. and landed in Shanghai about six hours behind schedule.