Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 returns to service after maintenance issue forced diversion to Oakland

A Southwest Airlines flight from Sacramento to Portland was diverted to Oakland on Sunday evening. The diversion was due to a mechanical indicator, with the airline sending another plane to transport the passengers to their final destination later yesterday evening.

Southwest Airlines flight 777 was scheduled to depart Sacramento (SMF) at 18:00 on Sunday, January 5th, with a scheduled arrival into Portland (PDX) at 19:35.

Based on flight tracking data from Flightradar24, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 left the Californian capital at around 20:00, and began its journey north.

The aircraft crossed the border into Oregon around thirty minutes after takeoff and shortly thereafter could be seen turning back as it flew over Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, the 114,000-acre ecological sanctuary situated at the crossroads of the Cascade, Klamath, and Siskiyou mountain ranges.

The plane then proceeded south, where it landed at Oakland International Airport (OAK) at 21:21 local time.

Passengers onboard were initially told the diversion was due to adverse weather conditions. However, the underlying cause of the diversion was slightly more complicated.

When reached for comment by my, an airline spokesperson explained the aircraft was experiencing a potential maintenance issue that prevented the use of engine braking, resulting in the diversion to an airport with a runway long enough to land safely:

"Southwest Airlines Flight 777 bound for Portland from Sacramento diverted to Oakland after the Crew received a maintenance indication from an on-board system.

"Safety procedures called for the Crew to bring the aircraft to a stop using only the brakes. Due to weather conditions, which affected braking distance, we elected to divert to Oakland, which had a longer runway available.

"Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees."

Upon landing, the plane was evaluated by mechanics, while Southwest found an alternative to transfer the aircraft's passengers the rest of the way to Portland.

A Southwest Airlines official confirmed the carrier accommodated the passengers on another aircraft. Based on flight tracking data, Southwest Airlines flight 777 continued later that day with another Boeing 737 MAX 8 , registered N8773Q.

The second plane took off from Oakland at 23:18 and landed safely in Portland an hour and twenty-three minutes later, at 00:40 this morning.

The original aircraft, bearing the registration N8907L, has now been thoroughly evaluated or repaired and is flying once again.

According to data from ch-aviation, it is one of Southwest Airlines' newest planes. The jet was ordered by Southwest in December 2011 and took its first flight in September of 2023.

It was delivered to Southwest less than a year ago, on February 21st, 2024, and has been flying with the carrier ever since.

Following its diversion to Oakland, N8907L was fully operational by this morning. It operated flight WN887 at 07:15 this morning, landing in Long Beach (LGB) just under an hour later.

It is currently en route from Long Beach to Nashville (BNA), where it is expected to land around 15:00.

It was initially scheduled to operate flight WN496 from Denver to Baltimore/Washington International this afternoon, but given the aircraft's unexpected visit to Oakland, the flight has been canceled.

The airplane is now due to continue on from Nashville to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) at 16:00 this afternoon.

From the nation's capital, the plane will carry on to New Orleans (MSY), where it is expected to land at 21:25 and remain until its return to DCA on Wednesday, January 8th.