We’ve seen endless stories of the risks that lithium ion batteries pose to aircraft, and we’ve even seen an alarming number of electronics catch fire in aircraft cabins. Well, here’s an unusual twist on that…
In this post:
United transatlantic flight diverts over lost laptop
This incident happened on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, and involves United Airlines flight UA126, operating from Washington Dulles (IAD) to Rome Fiumicino (FCO). The flight was operated by a 24-year-old Boeing 767-400ER with the registration code N76054.
The flight took off at 10:22PM local time, and started making its way northeast, climbing up to its initial cruising altitude of 31,000 feet. A little under an hour after takeoff, while the plane was around 100 miles southeast of Boston, the pilots contacted Boston center to report an unusual problem.
The pilots told the air traffic controller that they needed to return to their origin. The reason? A passenger was using a laptop (so it was turned on), and somehow dropped it along the side of the fuselage, and it fell into the cargo hold, and was no longer accessible.
Since the crew couldn’t find it, they made the decision to return to Washington Dulles. The pilots also emphasized how the area of the cargo hold that the laptop fell into was outside of the area with the fire suppression system.
The crew decided not to declare an emergency, and received vectors back to the airport. It’s funny how the air traffic controller then says “that’s a new debrief story,” and “I’ve never heard anything like that before.”
The plane ended up landing safely back at Washington Dulles as 12:35AM, 2hr13min after it first departed. The plane then departed again nearly three hours later, at 3:24AM, and landed in Rome at 5:26PM local time, over four hours after the initially planned 1:05PM arrival time.
You can listen to the entire air traffic control audio below, courtesy of You Can See ATC.
This is an unusual and costly diversion!
We’ve seen plenty of diversions due to lithium ion batteries catching fire in the cabin, but to see a diversion because a passenger somehow dropped a laptop into the cargo hold… how does that even happen?!
It’s not unusual to see laptops or other electronics get stuck in seats, and that can cause a diversion, due to the risk of moving the seat, and the electronic device then catching fire. But where is the gap that allows something to accidentally be dropped into the cargo hold?
I can’t help but wonder if that’s actually what happened, or if the laptop actually got stuck in a seat (or something), and there was some confusion about where it went?
It’s of course good to err on the side of caution, though talk about a costly laptop mistake! The amount of fuel wasted, the crew hours, etc. I would imagine this would be considered an “extraordinary circumstance” for the purposes of EC261 compensation, for those who were booked on the return flight, and delayed by hours (so while the airline had a duty of care, it probably wouldn’t have to pay cash compensation).
Bottom line
A United Airlines Boeing 767 operating a transatlantic flight returned to Washington Dulles after a passenger somehow dropped their laptop into the cargo hold. The laptop was in use, so the concern was that a laptop in the part of the cargo hold without a fire suppression system could pose a risk.
So while the chance of something happening was very small, the airline industry operates with an unwavering commitment to safety, and that’s a good thing. Imagine if the crew had decided to continue, and then something had happened…
What do you make of this United 767 laptop diversion?
Remember back to when DC10 cargo hatches were blowing open in mid flight. The sudden decompression caused damage to hydraulic and cable systems as the floor boards collapsed. One AA flight was able to make a recovery, a Turkish flight was not so lucky.
Modifications were made by providing holes in the floors so if a cargo hatches released in mid flight, the pressure in the cabin would equalize to that the cargo hold...
Remember back to when DC10 cargo hatches were blowing open in mid flight. The sudden decompression caused damage to hydraulic and cable systems as the floor boards collapsed. One AA flight was able to make a recovery, a Turkish flight was not so lucky.
Modifications were made by providing holes in the floors so if a cargo hatches released in mid flight, the pressure in the cabin would equalize to that the cargo hold with no damage to the floor boards and hydraulic or cable systems.
I would have thought it far fetched except my last (albeit domestic) UA flight last month there was a weirdly large opening at the floor of my window seat, to the point I made a mental note to be extra careful about dropping crap. I can see an ultra thin, small laptop slipping down there. Idk how one would drop it- maybe set in on their lap and reached for something and it slipped off?
Maybe when drink or dinner service started, the passenger placed the laptop or laptop to their left like by the arm rest and it slipped through?
Tim Dunn, did you tried to sabotage UA again?
Couldn't they have diverted to somewhere like EWR or BOS where they might've had a chance to recover time better and still proceed on their way after a brief ground crew intervention into the cargo hold?
And also, how mad would you all be at that passenger?
What a waste of time, fuel, money.
Yeah, it's not great; but accidents do happen. Would you be 'mad' at the passenger who has a stroke and causes an emergency landing at Shannon, Ireland? No, you'd understand that if it happened to you (or someone you care about), then you'd want the help. Empathy is not weakness.
You go where you have replacement crew and replacement aircraft. It's no guarantee that it was to be found quickly.
You would think that EWR would still be the best location. Can't be a better place for finding new staff to roster a flight than your largest east cost hub surely?
I feel like airlines are slowly finding out that carrying passengers is not worth the trouble....
Another “passengers can’t keep track of their sh*t” story.
Yeah, we need more 'dogs on planes' stories... think of all the 'engagement' opportunities!
(At least Ben rarely does the gender/race/religion rage-bait stories found elsewhere... *cough*)
I can see how this happened as I lost a phone this way.
On the window side of the plane at the bottom, those are panels that can be moved. If there is a gap with the panel where it meets the floor, this can absolutely happen.
Luckily for me we just landed as planned but they did tear the plane apart looking for that phone which was never to be found.
My comment was a criticism of passengers, not Ben.
That's a pretty slim laptop to slip through those vents!
Glad everyone is safe, and that's really unfortunate (and yes, costly for everyone, the airline, the passengers, etc.)
However, I do not believe EU261 applies, for a slightly different reason: US carriers are not obligated on the outbound flight from US-EU, only the return EU-US.
That said, if it were eligible, I'm sure the airline would argue 'extraordinary circumstances' by default, even though it is obligated to prove that, not the passengers.
I've long...
Glad everyone is safe, and that's really unfortunate (and yes, costly for everyone, the airline, the passengers, etc.)
However, I do not believe EU261 applies, for a slightly different reason: US carriers are not obligated on the outbound flight from US-EU, only the return EU-US.
That said, if it were eligible, I'm sure the airline would argue 'extraordinary circumstances' by default, even though it is obligated to prove that, not the passengers.
I've long advocated that the USA needs equivalent air passenger rights legislation so that there is at least a baseline coverage for passengers in the event of such disruptions.
Let's say, instead, this was a staffing issue (United failed to have pilots ready) or a maintenance issue (oops, we forgot to service those engines), then United should be on the hook, not only for re-booking those passengers on the next available flight (or a refund), but also to compensate for the lost time, inconvenience, and failure to operate.
Unfortunately, at the moment, we have no such protections in the USA. Basically, you gave United a zero-interest loan for all those months in-advance that you purchased your ticket, and all they have to do now is refund you (maybe only partially).
It is still wise to get travel insurance, so as to cover the loss of prepaid accommodations, for medical care while overseas, etc. But, often, those policies are limited (delay must be 72 hours or more, 50% of the trip, etc., read that fine print). Clearly, insurance isn't enough. And if the airlines can just blame you, then the incentive for them is to not try to do better.
I still think we deserve better. And, yes, it would take the FAA/DOT/Congress to actually implement something, so we'll have to wait for the adults to get back in-charge, which could be a while.
Remember, if such protections applied, those passengers could have received $600-800 each. Instead, they get nothing! ...but a headache and disappointment.
"I can’t help but wonder if that’s actually what happened, or if the laptop actually got stuck in a seat (or something), and there was some confusion about where it went?"
You see those dark coloured vents below the windows? Those are exhaust vents for cabin air circulation. What happened was the laptop apparently slipped into that vent and fell between into that void between the cabin floor and cargo hold.
I rather be safe...
"I can’t help but wonder if that’s actually what happened, or if the laptop actually got stuck in a seat (or something), and there was some confusion about where it went?"
You see those dark coloured vents below the windows? Those are exhaust vents for cabin air circulation. What happened was the laptop apparently slipped into that vent and fell between into that void between the cabin floor and cargo hold.
I rather be safe than sorry regardless of expense and disruption to travel plans than deal with a Swissair 111 type of incident.
And btw, won't it hurt to incorporate emojis somehow into the blog?!
No need to be a dick.
SR111 was credibly tragic. Faulty wires, but a fire nonetheless. Saudia 163 was another one. Just awful.
I meant *incredibly (though, yeah, I guess it was also 'credibly' bad).