United Airlines flight from Melbourne forced to make emergency
Shaken passengers on board a United Airlines flight from Melbourne to Los Angeles have spoken of the traumatic experience of hearing distress calls before the plane made an emergency landing following reports of smoke in the cabin.
VIC News
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A United Airlines flight from Melbourne to Los Angeles has been forced to make an emergency landing last night after reports of smoke coming from the cockpit.
UA99 left Tullamarine Airport shortly after 1pm on Monday, heading towards the west coast of the United States, when something went wrong.
It landed at La Tontouta International Airport at Noumea, the capital of New Caledonia, shortly after 4pm.
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The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner was carrying 256 passengers and landed without any issues, and a spokeswoman from the airline said a mechanical issue was to blame.
“An alternative aircraft is on its way for customers to continue to Los Angeles,” she said.
Passenger Nathan Lanier shared pictures of the aircraft on the runway.
“Didn’t expect to end our trip in New Caledonia but want to commend the Captain and his crew of UA99 for a calm and professional emergency diversion,” he wrote.
The Massachusetts man and his wife Lauren were on board the flight that made an emergency landing in New Caledonia.
He told the Herald Sun they had been in the air for about two and a half hours when the couple smelled smoke.
“My wife and I smelled what smelled like an electrical fire to us,” he told the Herald Sun from New Caledonia.
“Not long after, the captain came over the intercom to let us know they had smoke in the cabin and could not identify the source.
Read about that Melbourne plane that got diverted? Yup. I was on it. New Caledonia until further notice. @united better praise that pilot! pic.twitter.com/ZPiGOJ4FZx
— Juan Mundel (@juanmundel) March 25, 2019
“We would divert to New Caledonia.”
Mr Lanier said the feeling in the plane was tense.
“The cabin crew prepared us for an emergency landing and there was a good amount of fear and uncertainty during our descent,” he said.
“Several minutes later the captain came over the intercom to assure us they had a handle on the situation.
“I also witnessed the fuel dump out of the left wing which continued for most of the descent.
“The captain and cabin crew assured them it was necessary to lighten the plane.”
Once the passengers were able to get off the plane, they were shuttled to hotels across downtown Nouméa.
Customers were put up in nearby hotels and provided meals, according to the airline.
“We apologised to our customers for this experience,” a spokeswoman said.
“Our crew and operations are doing everything possible to assist customers during the delay.”
Didn’t expect to end our trip in New Caledonia but want to commend the Captain and his crew of UA99 for a calm and professional emergency diversion @united - ðŸ™ðŸ» pic.twitter.com/Fa8kSRqa0P
— Nathan Lanier (@treehousenate) March 25, 2019
Mr Lanier said it was a “traumatising” experience and a reminder of the reality of the dangers of flying.
“It was definitely a bit traumatising in the sense that it reminds you that you are in the sky in a steel bird and at the mercy of the plane in certain situations,” Mr Lanier told the Herald Sun.
“I do feel fortunate the pilots made an immediate and quick decision to bring the plane down.
“Many passengers were shaken up but happy to be on the ground — certainly the type of flight where a round of applause is appropriate upon landing!”
The tension in the cabin increased when the passengers heard their captain making distress calls to ground control from their smoky plane.
“I don’t love flying so hearing that over the intercom was not my idea of a good time,” Mr Lanier said.
“For a brief moment, the captain left the intercom on and we heard the distress calls.
“Seeing a half dozen fire trucks on approach was surreal.”
Mr Lanier runs a brewery in Massachusetts and was in Australia visiting a “wonderful” hop farm in Tasmania.
United Airlines staff were praised by Melbourne woman Annie, who said they were remarkably calm throughout the tense descent into New Caledonia.
“The flight attendants were super calm,” she told Triple M this morning.
“They were really communicative.
Great job by the entire @united team on #ua99 today. Also all the behind the scenes work. Flightops, networkops and airport ops. Welcome to New Caledonia. pic.twitter.com/VKl4NpKtH0
— Joe Barrow (@jbarrow8081) March 25, 2019
“We knew where our exits were, we were going to go into this brace position if we needed to.”
But despite their calming presence, the emergency landing was scary for all on-board.
“You could smell some smoke or something,” Annie said.
“A bunch of us started looking around, as you do when things aren’t quite right.
“The flight starts to descend. It’s a controlled descent.”
“Within about 20 minutes we were on the ground.
“The things that go through your head …”
All passengers are expected to spend the night in Noumea.
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