Boeing 777: United Airlines flight forced to U-turn mid-air after poo flowed from broken toilet into cabin

A United Airlines flight travelling to San Francisco was forced to make a U-turn midair and return to Frankfurt after faeces flowed from a broken toilet into the cabin. FlightAware shows the plane circled for a short time over the North Sea to the east of England while the crew weighed up their options. 

The United Airlines flight 59 was one hour into its 11hr 30min journey to California when the captain of the Boeing 777-300ER decided the best course of action was to return back to Germany rather than continue to fly across the Atlantic. Technicians were unable to find an immediate solution to the problem.

The smell permeated through the entire aircraft shortly after taking off. A statement by United read: “On Friday, March 29, United Flight 59 returned to Frankfurt following a maintenance issue with one of the aircraft's lavatories. The passengers were provided with hotel accommodations overnight in Frankfurt - and were rebooked on a different flight to San Francisco the next day”. The aircraft was back on the ground in Germany just two hours after taking off.  

The incident comes after seven plane passengers were hospitalised after a United Airlines jet from Tel Aviv, Israel, to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, US, was diverted to New York Stewart International Airport about 75 miles north due to severe turbulence. An additional 15 people were treated by paramedics for motion sickness and minor ailment, according to News 12, but nobody was seriously injured. There were reportedly around 320 people aboard the flight on Friday 29 March and the seven who were hospitalised were taken to St. Luke's Cornwall for observation, News 12 reported.