SFO-Bound Virgin Atlantic Flight Forced To Land In Newfoundland
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A Virgin Atlantic flight carrying holiday travelers from London to San Francisco was forced to land in Newfoundland Tuesday after encountering a "technical issue," according to an airline spokeswoman.
The flight -- a Boeing 787 Dreamliner -- left London at 11:06 a.m. local time and was scheduled to arrive in San Francisco at 1:50 p.m.
But over the Atlantic the pilot radio that Flight 19 had run into a technical issue and needed to make a "priority landing" as a precaution.
A passenger, Rin Johnson, tweeted that the flight had suffered an engine failure.
"Our captain made a v. safe choice, no doubt, but being stuck in the north for a night over a holiday... not good," he tweeted.
Meanwhile, passenger Tanveer Mann called it "Absolutely terrifying."
Emergency landed in the middle of a field in Canada due to engine problem during flight to SFO. Absolutely terrifying @VirginAtlantic
— Tanveer Mann (@tanny_mann) November 22, 2016
Lisette Kwong, a spokesperson with Virgin Atlantic, issued an apology to the passengers and said another plane was being dispatched to pick up the stranded passengers.