A mechanical issue on a Hawaiian Airlines flight bound for Honolulu forced the plane to return to Mineta San Jose International Airport shortly after takeoff Tuesday morning, and passengers still had not departed as of late Tuesday night, according to an airport official.
Hawaiian Airlines Flight 43 already had been delayed nearly four hours from its scheduled 9 a.m. departure and took off at 12:45 p.m., according to the airline's website.
Minutes later, the Boeing 767 jet turned around to return to San Jose because of a reported mechanical issue, but the plane did not touch down again until about 4:30 p.m., an airport official said.
It was not clear why it took so long for the plane to arrive back at Mineta San Jose.
The flight is scheduled to depart at 2 a.m. Wednesday, an airport official said. But many passengers got taxi vouchers, hotel vouchers or were taking a different flight.
