United Airlines flight UA1855 returned to Los Angeles International Airport on September 3 after the Boeing 757-200 encountered a hydraulic issue approximately 25 minutes into its flight to Newark. The aircraft, carrying passengers and crew, landed safely on Runway 25L roughly one hour after takeoff, with no injuries reported among those on board.
The flight had departed LAX Terminal 7 on Runway 25R and was climbing toward a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet when the crew detected the technical problem and declared an emergency. Air traffic control vectored the aircraft back to Los Angeles for an immediate return, according to AIRLIVE, an aviation news network.
United Airlines confirmed that the turnaround was caused by a maintenance issue. Passengers were deplaned at Gate 73 and rescheduled on a replacement aircraft, with the new departure time set for 5:30 PM local time—a delay of more than five hours for travelers.
The Boeing 757 is equipped with three separate hydraulic systems designed for redundancy purposes, meaning the loss of one system does not prevent the aircraft from operating safely. Modern commercial aircraft are built with multiple hydraulic systems so that if one fails, others can take over to power critical flight controls and landing gear, according to aviation safety sources. This redundancy design has been a major contributor to the safety of today’s aircraft.
A comparable incident occurred in March 2024 when United flight 821, flying from San Francisco to Mexico City, diverted to LAX due to a hydraulic system issue. That Airbus A320 was also equipped with three hydraulic systems, and only one was affected, according to United and the Federal Aviation Administration. The aircraft landed safely with all 105 passengers and five crew members on board, and the incident was investigated by the FAA.
Sources
- AIRLIVE — core event details including flight number, aircraft type, registration, departure time, emergency declaration, landing time, gate information, and passenger rescheduling
- CNN — precedent information on March 2024 United flight 821 hydraulic incident, aircraft redundancy systems, and FAA investigation
- SKYbrary Aviation Safety — explanation of aircraft hydraulic system redundancy design and how multiple systems provide safety backup
