The mishap happened Saturday afternoon on United Flight 198 from Los Angeles International Airport to Shanghai Pudong International Airport. Data on FlightAware.com showed the flight took off on time just before 2 p.m. but was diverted to San Francisco, where it landed just after 5 p.m. There were 257 passengers and 13 crew members onboard.

A United Airlines flight bound for China was forced to divert to San Francisco after the pilot realized he'd forgotten his passport following departure from LAX in Los Angeles on March 22, according to reports.

A United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai was forced to turn back after a pilot realized mid-flight that he had forgotten his passport.