The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Plane returns to L.A. because passenger on wrong flight
LOS ANGELES — A Tokyo-bound flight returned to Los Angeles hours into the journey after the crew discovered that one of the passengers had boarded the wrong plane, All Nippon Airways said Wednesday.
The pilot of Flight 175 decided to return to the originating airport as part of the airline’s security procedures, ANA said in statements that apologized to passengers but supported the decision.
The flight left Los Angeles International Airport at 11:36 a.m. Tuesday and returned at 7:33 p.m.
Model Chrissy Teigen and her singer husband, John Legend, were aboard and she live-tweeted the developments. She wondered on Twitter why the plane was turning around four hours into the 11hour flight.
“Why did we all get punished for this one person’s mistake? Why not just land in Tokyo and send the other person back? How is this the better idea, you ask? We all have the same questions,” she wrote.
FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said the agency conducted interviews Tuesday night but made no arrest. No charges were filed, but the investigation is ongoing, she said.
A U.S. government official with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press the incident involved two brothers — one ticketed on ANA and the other on a United Airlines flight leaving about the same time.
The official who spoke on condition of anonymity said both cleared security and had valid boarding passes.
ANA said it was trying to determine how the passenger boarded the wrong flight.
The airline said it supported the pilot’s decision “out of the abundance of caution and safety for the passengers and crew.”