According to the report from the San Francisco Chronicle, United Airlines experienced two unrelated accidents within 24 hours at the San Francisco International Airport.
On Monday night, a plane bound for Denver collided with the tail of another United Airlines aircraft while backing away from the gate. Flight 1871 struck the tail of Flight 796, which was parked at the gate and preparing to depart for Boston.
Fortunately, there were no casualties in the accident. Passengers from both planes disembarked safely, and United Airlines arranged alternative flights.
The FAA stated that the collision occurred in an area where aircraft were not being guided by controllers and confirmed that an investigation into the specific cause will be conducted.
Several hours later, a United Airlines flight bound for Baltimore had to return to San Francisco International Airport after passengers and crew members detected a burning odor. The Boeing 737 Max 9 plane, identified as Flight 2664, was carrying 164 passengers and 8 crew members when it departed at 9:47 am on Tuesday, but returned to land at San Francisco Airport less than an hour later.
The airline explained that the decision to return was made “to address the burning plastic odor in the cabin.” All passengers and crew members disembarked safely, and alternative flights were arranged. United Airlines did not specify the source of the odor.
Both incidents were close calls with no injuries, yet they disrupted operations at one of the busiest airports in the United States.
Prior to these incidents, on the evening of August 6, United Airlines experienced a critical technical system failure, leading to the temporary suspension of major flights at several airports across the United States. FAA data indicated that airports in Chicago, Denver, Newark, Houston, and San Francisco were all affected. The captain informed passengers at the time, “We are missing some of the data needed for takeoff, so we are unable to depart.”