United Flight UA 776 diverted to Richmond

United Airlines Flight 776, a Boeing 737-900 operating from Orlando to Newark, diverted to Richmond on May 19 after failing to complete its planned arrival into Newark, according to flight-tracking records. FlightAware shows the aircraft left Orlando at 5:10 p.m. EDT and reached Richmond International Airport at 9 p.m. EDT before continuing later that night to Newark. FAA air-traffic records show Newark was under weather-related restrictions as thunderstorms moved across the region. Public flight records and FAA advisories together point to a disruption driven by broader Northeast weather delays rather than a disclosed onboard emergency. ### Why did this flight end up in Richmond instead of Newark? FlightAware records show UA776 was scheduled from Orlando International Airport to Newark Liberty International Airport on May 19, but the service was marked diverted and terminated its first leg in Richmond. The same records show the aircraft later departed Richmond at 9:43 p.m. EDT and landed in Newark at 11:36 p.m. EDT. The Nomad Lawyer report cited by the original card said passengers arrived more than three hours behind schedule and put the Richmond landing at 11:29 p.m. local time. (flightaware.com) FlightAware’s historical log, however, shows a 9 p.m. arrival in Richmond and an 11:36 p.m. arrival in Newark after the onward leg. That discrepancy means the publicly available timestamps do not fully match across sources. ### What was happening at Newark that night? (flightaware.com) The FAA’s National Airspace System dashboard showed Newark under a ground stop from 5:12 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. PDT on May 20 because of thunderstorms. The same FAA entry listed an average ground delay of 159 minutes at Newark and said departure delays were averaging 60 minutes and increasing because of traffic-management initiatives tied to weather. JFK also appeared on the FAA dashboard with a ground stop and a ground delay averaging 138 minutes, while Philadelphia was listed with departure delays tied to thunderstorms. (flightaware.com) Those restrictions support the account that the disruption was part of a broader regional weather event affecting major Northeast airports. ### Does the public record show an emergency landing? United has not, in the material reviewed, publicly stated a mechanical problem or onboard emergency for UA776. (nasstatus.faa.gov) The Nomad Lawyer item described the Richmond stop as an emergency landing, but the FAA dashboard entries available publicly point to thunderstorm-related traffic controls at Newark and nearby airports. FlightAware’s log shows a diversion and then a completed repositioning leg from Richmond to Newark the same night. (nasstatus.faa.gov) That sequence is consistent with an operational diversion, though only United or the FAA could definitively state the reason for the crew’s decision. ### How long were passengers delayed? FlightAware shows the Orlando departure at 5:10 p.m. EDT and the final Newark arrival at 11:36 p.m. EDT on May 19. (nasstatus.faa.gov) UA776’s scheduled arrival was 8 p.m., according to the same tracking record, which puts the final arrival roughly 3 hours and 36 minutes late. Airportia and other secondary flight-status sites separately showed the flight as delayed or disrupted on nearby dates, but the clearest public timeline comes from the FlightAware historical record and the FAA status board. (flightaware.com) ### Where can travelers verify similar disruptions? The FAA’s National Airspace System dashboard lists active ground stops, ground delays and departure delays by airport, including the stated weather cause and average delay time. (flightaware.com) FlightAware maintains public logs for individual flights, including diversions and subsequent recovery legs when available. As of May 21, United’s public flight-status page remained one of the airline sources for current operations, while FAA advisories remained the main federal record for airport-wide restrictions affecting Newark, JFK and Philadelphia. (flightaware.com) (united.com) (nasstatus.faa.gov)