The highly acclaimed Boeing 787 Dreamliner recently began service in North America in a debut last month with United Airlines. United and Boeing are both based in Chicago.
On Tuesday, the 7:30 a.m. United flight 1146 from Houston to Newark was diverted to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and landed safely there at 9:25 a.m., the airline said. The plane, the third delivered to United recently, carried 174 customers and 10 crew members. Neither United nor Boeing would describe the problem except to say it was a "mechanical issue."
"We are re-accommodating the customers on a different aircraft to Newark," United said in a statement. "United will work with Boeing to review the diversion and determine the cause."
The Federal Aviation Administration "is looking into it," an FAA spokesman said.
