United Flight Returns to Chicago Due to Plane’s Size

A United Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Chicago earlier this month after the pilot told passengers the plane was too large to land at a Tennessee airport.

According to USA Today, United Flight 5277 operated by Skywest took off from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago on October 16 at 2:44 p.m. local time en route to Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport in Tennessee.

About 30 minutes into the flight, the pilot informed passengers that the plane they were flying in was too big for a landing in Chattanooga, so they would be forced to turn back to O’Hare instead.

United Flight 5277 was scheduled to be operated with a Bombardier CRJ-200, but Skywest flew the route with an Embraer EMB-175 due to the original plane undergoing equipment changes. While the Tennessee airport can support the size of the Embraer, United didn’t have the equipment at the facility to handle the plane once it landed.

Once the United flight safely touched down in Chicago, passengers were provided food and drinks while the airline worked to find a suitable replacement plane. The passengers were boarded onto the proper aircraft and departed O’Hare at around 6 p.m. local time that evening.

The flight arrived over three hours after it was originally scheduled to land.

Passengers on the flight reportedly received a refund for the Chicago-Chattanooga portion of the flight and a $300 travel voucher for the inconvenience.