United Airlines diverts flight after dog loaded onto wrong plane

A United Airlines flight from Newark, N.J., to St. Louis was diverted on Friday after airline employees realized a dog was “mistakenly” put on the plane, ABC News reports.

The dog, which was loaded in a carrier, was dropped off in Akron, Ohio, and eventually reunited with its owner at an undisclosed location.

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The airline said in a statement to ABC that all passengers on the flight were compensated over the diversion.

Friday’s incident is the third involving dogs and United Airlines in the past week. On Thursday, the airline experienced a similar incident when a passenger’s 10-year-old German shepherd was mistakenly flown to Japan, while the owner was presented with a different dog upon her arrival.

United said that mistake was made when two flights made connections in Denver.

On Monday, the airline received massive criticism on social media when a customer reported that a flight attendant instructed her to place a dog carrier containing a 10-month-old French bulldog puppy into an overhead compartment for the duration of the flight. The dog died during the flight.

United said in a statement that the flight attendant was unaware the dog was inside the carrier, despite passengers’ reports that the dog was barking throughout the flight. Other passengers also reported that flight attendants insisted that the animal would be safe for the trip.

“They assured the safety of the family’s pet so wearily, the mother agreed,” wrote June Lara, a passenger aboard flight UA1284.

Texas authorities are reportedly looking into the possibility of animal cruelty charges over Monday’s incident.