A United Airlines flight carrying 230 people declared an emergency moments after taking off from Washington’s Dulles International Airport, with an audio recording capturing the pilot’s repeated “mayday” call to air traffic control.
Flight 108 was only moments into its June 25 ascent to Germany’s Munich International Airport when its pilot reported an engine failure, according to a tower recording.
“Failure. Engine failure. Left Engine, United 108. Declaring an emergency. Mayday, mayday, mayday,” the pilot is heard saying in the recording obtained and published on YouTube by You Can See ATC.
A United Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, a similar one pictured, declared an emergency late last month shortly after taking off from Washington’s Dulles International Airport.
Air traffic control and the pilot discussed preparations for returning to the airport, including the need to dump fuel to adjust for the proper weight needed for landing, according to the audio.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner landed safely shortly after, with “all passengers deplaned normally at the gate,” a spokesperson for United said in a statement Monday.
“The flight was subsequently canceled and we arranged alternate travel arrangements to take customers to their destination as soon as possible,” they said, while blaming the situation on a “mechanical issue.”
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There were no disruptions to other flights, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said in an email.
The Federal Aviation Administration acknowledged the crew’s report of possible engine issues in an email to HuffPost and said it is investigating.
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