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+--- Thread: UA363(Heavy) (/showthread.php?tid=23557)
UA363(Heavy) - HiloJulie - 01-31-2025
So today, United flight UA363, from Newark to HNL was diverted to Hilo landing at 3:30PM this afternoon. Flight aware then shows it left Hilo at 4:10PM landing HNL at 5:03PM.
I am assuming weather (or possibly fuel level issue) however, I see no news reports as to why the diversion as of this posting.
The jet was a Boeing 767-400, a workhorse in the United fleet. Wide body, dual engine.
UA363 - United Airlines UA 363 Flight Tracker
Thankfully, ITO was here to save the day whatever the issue!
RE: UA363(Heavy) - Patricia - 01-31-2025
Considering there were power issues ar the airport, just like everywhere else. Not surprising.
RE: UA363(Heavy) - TomK - 01-31-2025
(01-31-2025, 07:57 AM)HiloJulie Wrote: So today, United flight UA363, from Newark to HNL was diverted to Hilo landing at 3:30PM this afternoon. Flight aware then shows it left Hilo at 4:10PM landing HNL at 5:03PM.
I am assuming weather (or possibly fuel level issue) however, I see no news reports as to why the diversion as of this posting.
The jet was a Boeing 767-400, a workhorse in the United fleet. Wide body, dual engine.
UA363 - United Airlines UA 363 Flight Tracker
Thankfully, ITO was here to save the day whatever the issue!
Bad weather. I invite you to read AIRMETS and SIGMETS if you're interested.
https://www.weather.gov/hfo/aviation
Aircraft divert all the time due to weather. And they certainly don't try to land in a powerful thunderstorm. It isn't newsworthy.
Obie?
RE: UA363(Heavy) - HiloJulie - 01-31-2025
I understand what you're saying Tom, and I read AIRMETS and SIGMETS at times! Good resources.
And yes, I'd love to hear Obie's take, but typically, inbound mainland flights go to HNL, OGG or KOA. Especially long haul (this one from Newark) wide-bodied twin-engine jets.
ITO would be the last airport to land that type of plane for the "convenience" of HNL - be it OGG or KOA being first inline, due to on the ground issues such as power or weather-related issues, unless, and it's totally possible, all three airports were impacted all at the same time.
Outside of that ITO would be the first airport of choice when needing to get a jet on the ground NOW.
So, while it could be just all weather related, as a very high-ranking political person said today, its "my gut feeling" something else was the issue. Perhaps weather delays too long for remaining fuel on board, thus needing to get the jet down on the ground right now.
Interestingly, it did take off 40 minutes after landing.
RE: UA363(Heavy) - TomK - 01-31-2025
I will follow Occam's razor and suggest the pilots chose Hilo as the best alternative and landed there until they knew it was safe to continue their flight to Honolulu and land there. If I might add, if it took off 40 minutes after landing at Hilo, I don't think fuel was an issue.
RE: UA363(Heavy) - Obie - 01-31-2025
Diverted to Hilo because of weather in HNL.
The weather was unpredictable and they were going to dip into their reserve fuel. Maui was a mess too.
They were issued a new flight number, cancelled the etops clearance and became an interisland flight.
RE: UA363(Heavy) - HiloJulie - 02-01-2025
I stand corrected.
It did not leave yesterday after only being on the ground for 40 minutes.
It spent all night and as I post this at 3:40PM Friday, Flight Aware says it is taking off ITO at 4PM 4:30PM to HNL landing at 5:03PM 5:27PM, after being delayed from a 2:10PM departure TODAY Friday.
Now flying as UA3034.
No news reports as to what/where did the passengers do/go that I can find.
UA3034 (UAL3034) United Flight Tracking and History - FlightAware
RE: UA363(Heavy) - Obie - 02-01-2025
There was a ground stop issued yesterday about that time for all interisland flights because of the weather.
I have a friend who flew to Oahu and she reported her flight circled for awhile before they landed. There were a lot of people stranded.
I would speculate the United flight landed rather than chance running out of fuel in a holding pattern and the crew may have timed out.
If there was a medical emergency or mechanical problem it would have made the news, of course yesterday's news may not make the paper until tomorrow
RE: UA363(Heavy) - TomK - 02-01-2025
I checked FlightAware, and yes, it looks as though the aircraft stayed overnight on Thursday. I have no idea what happened to the passengers; all I can add is that it wasn't a holiday, so some rooms would have been available. Now, whether or not the airline paid for accommodation and food is interesting. It wasn't a technical problem, so the airline can't be blamed, but if you're dropped into a relatively remote location, you would hope the airline helped their passengers. But it was United, so I wouldn't be surprised to learn they didn't. If this happened in Europe, you'd probably get your money back and more.
I also think Obie made a good point about the crew being timed out. Given the length of the flight, they would have had more than two pilots, but by the time it got to Hilo, the travel time was just over 11:30 hours. Then, they had to wait for better weather, and they had also been on duty for an hour or so before the flight departed. So yes, I think Obie's suggestion of pilots timing out due to bad weather at the destination is a more than reasonable suggestion.