Occasionally when flying with an elytra, loyalty tridents will be unable to reach the player or return to your inventory. The trident hover and float above the player, until the player deactivates the elytra or lands. Then the trident will return to inventory as normal.

How to reproduce
1. Start flying with an elytra, and maintain level (don't fly up or down rapidly)
2. Throw a loyalty trident at the ground, or a tall object near you.
3. If done correctly, the trident won't return to your inventory, but instead float above the player.

If your having issues reproducing, try nosediving once the trident is about to return to you, or otherwise slowly declining in altitude, so the trident trys to return above the player.

Video demo coming soon.