According to the Chicago Tribune (a reputable newspaper) quoting a spokeswoman of United, the landing in Bangor, Maine, was due to a medical emergency and the return to Chicago after the take-off from Bangor and some miles in the direction of Brussels was due to mechanical problems.Passenger wrote:The aircraft took off from Chicago, but had to divert to Bangor for a medical emergency. After that stop at Bangor, the aircraft apparently headed to Brussels but returned to Chicago. Don't know why that happened. My initial thought was crew duty time, but perhaps they were told that ground crew didn't offload the passenger's luggage? Or they forgot to offload his spouse's luggage?
The passengers got accommodation, were rebooked on alternate flights or taken to Brussels with a later UA flight.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... story.html