Smoke Signals on United Flight 869: Hot Mess to SFO Snack Time
KEY POINTS
- ā¢Vincent Goh, 25, was delayed boarding United flight 869 to Hong Kong due to overweight luggage.
- ā¢Smoke appeared mid-flight, prompting a scary return and emergency landing at San Francisco Airport.
- ā¢Passengers expressed panic, and Vincent sent his last messages with instructions for contacting family.
- ā¢After landing, Vincent wandered for an hour without info, later using a $15 meal voucher on a $35 meal.
Vincent Goh, a 25-year-old Cantonese publishing house worker, was on United Airlines flight 869 heading to Hong Kong when an unplanned smoke show turned his business trip into a drama series. After already enduring a delay for an hour because the plane was scary overweight and luggage got axed, smoke started billowing like the plane was auditioning for a fire drill. Vincent, sitting hostage in the middle seat next to the 'gas tank,' bravely sent a last-minute goodbye with detailed family-contact instructions because why not prepare for the apocalypse? The Boeing 777 pilot, balancing 336 passengers and 15 crew members, made an emergency landing back at San Francisco International Airport where Vincent wandered lost like a C student in life's airport. United offered a $15 coupon, which buys less than a sigh at SFO, so Vincent treated himself to a $35 meal featuring fries, chicken sandwich, and classy red wine ā emergency calories. Delays continued post-landing, making his ānot urgentā Thanksgiving trip feel like a patience endurance test.
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Being packed like a sardine next to the gas tank while your plane coughs smoke and pilots decide if dinner includes emergency landing, then handing you a $15 coupon for SFO gourmet. Aviation or extreme reality TV? Spoiler: The fries cost more than the voucher.
Nothing says 'business trip' like sitting in a middle seat beside a gas tank while your plane tries to barbecue itself midair. No worries, just a $15 snack coupon to the rescue at one of Americaās priciest airports.
United flight 869ās smoke-filled encore includes an extended stay at SFO and a wine-soaked tribute to airline compensation logic ā $15 vouchers at $35 meals because math is hard, apparently.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 11/19/2025 | Author: Aditi Bharade
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