On Friday, July 25, a United Airlines aircraft headed for Munich experienced a mid-air engine failure shortly after takeoff, forcing the plane to return to Washington Dulles Airport. Minutes after takeoff, the left engine of Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flight UA108 failed, resulting in a “mayday” emergency.
Soon after taking off from Washington Dulles Airport, United Airlines Flight UA108, bound for Germany, had a midair scare when its left engine failed.
In order to secure a safe emergency landing, the pilots of the aircraft, which was headed to Munich Airport, issued a MAYDAY call and collaborated closely with air traffic authorities. At 5,000 feet in the air, the crew reported an engine issue and declared an emergency.
Aviationa2z claims that before landing, the plane safely dumped fuel by circling northwest of Washington in a holding pattern. To limit the plane’s weight, the pilots asked to remain at 6,000 feet, and controllers provided them with a number of directives to avoid collisions with other aircraft and to permit safe fuel disposal. The pilots had been asked by the ATC how long they anticipated “holding, fuelling, or just getting set up there.” The pilot stated that they would need to “adjust fuel and climb six.”
The plane’s safe return to Washington Dulles Airport was made possible by the pilots and air traffic controllers’ continuous communication throughout the event.
The pilot reported to ATC that the plane was flying northwest at 6,000 feet and spilling fuel. After that, ATC told the pilot to let them know when the fuel dump was finished and told the aircraft to fly towards 020 degrees. The pilots dumped fuel and then asked for permission to land on Runway 19 Centre using an Instrument Landing System approach.
Due to the engine failure, the plane couldn’t move on its own and had to be towed off the runway after landing safely. The plane is currently still grounded at Washington Dulles Airport, as per the report. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported during the incident.
The incident bears an eerie similarity to the recent Air India crash in Ahmedabad, where the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner experienced a severe engine malfunction soon after takeoff.