More misery was heaped on to an embattled U.S. airline last week when a plane toilet overflowed and sewage trickled into the cabin, according to a German newspaper.
The incident forced the United Airlines plane to turn back to Frankfurt, Germany, rather than continue on its 12-hour flight to San Francisco, California, on Friday afternoon. Airline tracking data from Flightrader24, published by Bild newspaper, showed that flight UA59 left Frankfurt, crossed part of Europe, circled over the North Sea, and then returned back to Germany two hours after taking off.
The incident comes after the airline suffered a string of high-profile problems last month, with flights affected by maintenance issues, engine failure and a plane skidding off the runway after landing. There have been no reports of any injuries. Following widespread reports of the various incidents, United CEO Scott Kirby emailed customers to assure them that the airline was safe.
On Friday, flyers complained that one of the bathrooms on the 7-year-old Boeing 777 was defective when they realized the smelly contents from the toilet had leaked out into the cabin, Bild reported.
The crew alerted technicians on the ground and the plane circled over the sea as the crew tried to resolve the problem. But no solution could be found, and the plane was forced to turn back, the newspaper added. The travelers were reportedly booked on other flights, while the plane was taken away for servicing.
Newsweek has reached out to United Airlines seeking further information and comment.
Although the airline has been the focus of attention lately, it is not unique in suffering mishaps within its fleet.
In January, for example, a Delta Airlines plane's front wheel flew off as it prepared for take-off in Atlanta.
Alaska Airlines grounded its entire fleet of Boeing 737 Max 9 aircrafts earlier this year, after a section of fuselage broke off a plane mid-flight.
Nevertheless, experts insist that American air travel remains safe and is actually statistically safer than traveling by car, according to government figures.
Author and pilot Patrick Smith told the Boston Globe last year that passengers have an unfortunate tenancy to seize upon "scattered incidents."
"Statistically, commercial air travel's never been safer," he said. "Major accidents today are few and far between, whereas in the old days, we'd see one or more every year. That's lost on people."
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