Before reaching China... an error forces the plane to return to America; how is that possible?!

In a bizarre incident that left passengers astonished, a plane belonging to United Airlines was forced to return to San Francisco Airport two hours after takeoff because the pilot had forgotten his passport. The plane was en route from Los Angeles to Shanghai with 257 passengers and 13 crew members on board, in a journey expected to take around 12 hours. The flight took off from Los Angeles around 2 p.m. on Saturday, heading north over the Pacific Ocean towards China's largest city. However, the pilot realized after two hours in the air that he did not have his passport, which is a legal requirement for international travel. Consequently, the decision was made to return to San Francisco. United Airlines stated to CNN that the plane safely landed back at the airport at 5 p.m. local time. The company mentioned, "Due to the absence of the pilot's passport, we changed the crew and rearranged the flight to transport passengers to their destination." The airline also provided passengers with food vouchers and compensation for the delay. After the crew change, the flight departed again at 9 p.m., but the arrival in Shanghai was delayed by approximately 6 hours from the scheduled time. One of the passengers, Yang Shuhan, a Chinese passenger on the plane, spoke to CNN, saying, "I heard the frustrated pilot's voice through the internal communication system, apologizing for forgetting his passport, and his voice was filled with frustration." The incident sparked a wide reaction on social media, with passengers expressing varying opinions on the importance of accuracy and precaution in such long flights, while others held onto humor in their comments on the surprising situation.