Dog sent on wrong United Airlines flight out of Newark Airport

A dog mistakenly sent from Newark airport to St. Louis instead of Akron, Ohio on Thursday was the latest in a series of animal mishaps for United Airlines.

The dog was on United Express flight 3996 from Newark to St. Louis. The plane diverted to Akron to safely reunite the pet with its owner, according to a statement from United. All customers on board for the diversion were compensated.

Two days earlier a dog was mistakenly sent to Japan during a connection in Denver instead of Kansas. Another dog ended up in Kansas instead, but both pets have since been reunited with their owners, according to the airline.

United: United Airlines apologizes after dog dies in overhead bin during flight to LaGuardia

"We apologized for this mistake and are following up with the vendor kennel where they were kept overnight to understand what happened," United Airlines stated.

On Monday, a dog died when a flight attendant ordered it be placed in an overhead bin during a United flight that landed in LaGuardia Airport.

More: How Toys R Us chief Dave Brandon broke the bad news to employees

Two U.S. senators presented legislation on Thursday to explicitly bar airlines from putting animals in danger by placing them in overhead baggage compartments.

Email: jongsma@northjersey.com