On Tuesday night, Chrissy Teigen and her husband, John Legend, were four hours into an 11-hour flight from Los Angeles to Tokyo when the plane did something that people previously didn't know was possible: It made an abrupt U-turn and headed back to LAX.
What's even more shocking is that the reason wasn't bad weather or safety concerns. It turns out there had been a mix-up, and someone had boarded the wrong flight. As a result of this administrative flub, the plane carrying 226 passengers had to return to its original destination even though it was already mid-flight.
Teigen, an active Twitter user, began live-tweeting the nightmare soon after it began, writing, "a flying first for me: 4 hours into an 11 hour flight and we are turning around because we have a passenger who isn't supposed to be on this plane. Why...why do we all gotta go back, I do not know."
Everyone had the same questions. Did the airline suddenly realize their mistake mid-flight or did said person notify them? Why did it take so long to figure it out either way? Was it intentional? How did this happen? Why does an entire flight of people have to pay for one passenger's mistake? Wouldn't it make more sense to just continue on to Tokyo and send that one person back? Isn't this an insane waste of fuel? Why has flying become such a test on the limits of human patience?
One eagle-eyed reader saw Teigen's tweets and managed to identify her flight as All Nippon Airways Flight 175. He checked the flight status and, sure enough, the graphics were bonkers.
Teigen handled the nightmare with her usual blend of humor and sardonic wit.
And she had just one request: that someone explain how this happened.
ANA has still failed to provide a reasonable explanation for the huge error. In a statement to CNN, they simply said that "the cabin crew notified the pilot that one of the passengers boarded the incorrect flight, and the pilot in command made the decision to return to the originating airport." They apologized for the inconvenience and said that an investigation is underway.
According to Teigen's sleuthing, it looks like that boarding pass scanner is completely decorative.
All in all, it took them 8 hours to get from LAX back to LAX, the same time as a transatlantic flight.
Back at the airport, they moved them into a room, put on Bravo, and downed a bowl of ramen. I think this kind of mess calls for a live performance and a stiff drink, personally.
Luckily, Teigen always knows how to turn a nightmare into a fun time.
And she got quite a kick of the conspiracy theories that Teigen and Legend were trying to flee the country because apparently Legend is part of the Illuminati and also both of them want to create a Muslim slave race?
Hours later, they finally managed to get on another flight, one that seemed to belong in a galaxy far, far away.
Let's hope that the food is better this time around, and that they actually make it safe!
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