United Airlines pilots issued a “Mayday” call soon after departing from Washington Dulles International Airport last week due to a left engine failure on a flight bound for Munich. The aircraft, carrying 219 passengers, managed to land safely, and everyone on board was evacuated without incident, according to a United spokesperson.
The incident occurred on the night of Friday, July 25, when United flight 108 took off from Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) in Virginia, destined for Germany. The Boeing 787 had 219 passengers and 11 crew members aboard. Shortly after reaching an altitude of 10,000 feet, the pilots detected a problem and reported “Failure, engine failure, left engine, United 108” to air traffic controllers in a recording available on YouTube. They declared an emergency to ensure assistance.
As the aircraft cruised at 5,000 feet, the pilots repeated “Mayday, mayday, mayday,” prompting air traffic control to swiftly guide them to make a right turn back to the airport through clear skies. However, as the plane turned for landing, the pilots realized it was too heavy for a safe touchdown due to the extra fuel needed for the transatlantic trip. This required them to remain airborne until they received approval to lighten the plane’s load.
After completing a second loop around the airport and releasing sufficient fuel, the crew successfully landed back at IAD after spending over 30 minutes in the air. All passengers and crew were evacuated safely.
A Washington Dulles spokesperson informed PEOPLE that the aircraft landed without further issues and was inspected by Airports Authority Fire and Rescue teams before being towed to a gate. The airline attributed the event to a “mechanical issue.”