SHANNON, Ireland (WKRC) – A United Airlines flight diverted to Ireland after a laptop got stuck in a business-class seat Sunday.
According to Business Insider, citing a report from news outlet Paddle Your Own Kanoo, a flight from Zurich, Switzerland to Chicago was diverted to Shannon, Ireland after the plane was around 500 miles over the Atlantic Ocean.
Per the outlet, engineers at the airport were able to get the laptop out of the seat, but because the flight crew had reached their limit on the clock, they were unable to get the 157 passengers to Chicago.
A United spokesperson told Business Insider that the flight was diverted to “address a potential safety risk caused by a laptop being stuck in an inaccessible location.”
The airline confirmed to the outlet that passengers were provided hotels and arranged to be on a flight to Chicago on Monday, according to the outlet. The flight was scheduled to take off over 24 hours after it landed in Ireland, per Business Insider, citing data from Flightrader24.
According to the outlet, a laptop or phone getting stuck in a seat isn’t unusual and can pose a safety risk because lithium batteries found in the devices can potentially catch fire.