Overview
- United Airlines flight UA126 from Washington Dulles to Rome turned back on October 15 after a passenger’s laptop dropped out of reach behind a cabin wall panel.
- United said the device slipped through a small gap leading to the cargo area where it could not be accessed from the cabin.
- In an ATC recording, the pilot called the return a precaution because the powered laptop with a lithium-ion battery could not be seen or reached.
- The jet made a U-turn off the coast of Boston, landed back at Dulles just over two hours after departure, and left again for Rome after roughly three hours on the ground.
- Maintenance recovered the laptop and inspected the aircraft, and the flight arrived in Rome about four hours late with no injuries reported.