Passengers on United flight get stranded in unlikely place

Ask anyone who flies regularly and they'll have an air travel horror story to tell. But nearly 200 United passengers have a whopper: Their flight from Chicago to London got diverted to a tiny Canadian town, where they spent the night in military barracks.

Search Google Earth and you'll see green wilderness surrounding the small town of Goose Bay in Newfoundland. A place so small, the military facilities stand out. And that's where 176 passengers from United Flight 958 spent Friday night.

They'd left Chicago's O'Hare, with FlightAware tracking the plane, and four hours later were diverted.

Passsengers started tweeting:

Though Goose Bay actually has three hotels, a clerk says they've been booked.

Passengers called it an epic fail.

"Unheated barracks on a 41-degree night -- not enough covers -- rushing for a bus to the military food hall," said another tweet.

Marian University student-athlete Bryce Taylor was traveling to London for his mom's surgery. Instead, he found himself stranded.

"The place we stayed was absolutely disgraceful," Tayor said. "There was no communication. No one on the ground from United in Goose Bay the whole time."

The 11 crew members apparently had an easier time.

Passenger Sallie Coventry posted a picture on Twitter, writing "United flight crew arrived, looking fresh from their comfy night in a hotel. #outrageous."

When Bill Turner griped, that the crew was "in a hotel while their customers are stranded in a barracks."

United tweeted back:

Passengers boarded a replacement aircraft to Newark, but waited three more hours in their seats to take off.

• United Airlines