Southwest Airlines resolves mechanical issue after emergency diversion

A Southwest Airlines flight traveling from Sacramento to Portland was diverted to Oakland on Sunday evening due to a mechanical issue. The airline arranged for another aircraft to transport the passengers to their destination later that night.

Flight 777, scheduled to leave Sacramento at 18:00 on January 5th and arrive in Portland by 19:35, departed around 20:00. According to Flightradar24, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 turned back over Oregon and landed in Oakland at 21:21 local time.

Initially informed of adverse weather conditions as the reason for diversion, passengers were later told of a maintenance issue affecting engine braking. A Southwest spokesperson explained that safety procedures required landing using only brakes, prompting the diversion due to weather impacting braking distance. "Safety procedures called for the Crew to bring the aircraft to a stop using only the brakes," they stated. "Due to weather conditions, which affected braking distance, we elected to divert to Oakland, which had a longer runway available."