A commercial flight carrying Japan's Princess Kako, niece of Emperor Naruhito, from Houston to the Peruvian capital Lima for an official visit, was forced to return to the U.S. city on Wednesday afternoon due to a malfunctioning weather radar, the Imperial Household Agency said.
About an hour after the United Airlines aircraft's 5:20 p.m. Wednesday departure, an onboard announcement informed passengers of the technical issue. After turning around, the plane landed in Houston around 7:30 p.m.
The princess, the younger daughter of Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko, departed from Tokyo's Haneda airport Wednesday morning, Japan time.
She had been scheduled to transit at Houston and reach Lima by Wednesday evening. Her plans during the visit to Peru include attending a ceremony on Thursday to mark the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Peru.
