This also happens... A Boeing B-787 aircraft of the American United Airlines travelling to the Chinese metropolis of Shanghai, had to make an unexpected landing at the airport of San Francisco due to an oversight of the pilot. The man in fact realized that he did not have his passport with him, an essential document for entry into the Asian country.

Flight UA198, which took off from Los Angeles International Airport at 1:47 pm on March 22, turned around after about two hours of flying, heading for San Francisco. Upon arrival at the alternate airport, the visibly upset passengers were offered $15 meal vouchers and the airline sent them an apology message, attributing the inconvenience to "an unexpected issue with the crew".

The flight restarted at 8:28pm local time, with a delay of almost three hours, after a replacement pilot had arrived in a hurry for the purpose. The arrival in Shanghai was recorded at 00:48, with an overall delay of almost six hours compared to the scheduled time.