A United Airlines flight had a nail-biting scare after losing an engine just minutes after takeoff from Washington’s Dulles International Airport on Saturday afternoon.
Engine Failure Forces Plane to Turn Back
Flight 803, a Boeing 777 heading to Tokyo, was forced to turn back around 12:20pm EST, the FAA confirmed. Pilots reported a sudden engine failure right after liftoff.
Debris showered down from the stricken aircraft, sparking a brush fire close to the runway. Emergency crews rushed to the scene as smoke darkened the skies above the airport.
“We’ve had a United 777 losing engine on departure runway one center,” an air traffic controller announced over radio. “Roll the trucks and get them ready,” they added.
The plane circled nearby for nearly two hours before touching down safely back at Dulles. There were 275 passengers and 15 crew members onboard. Luckily, no injuries were reported.
Firefighters Douse Blaze, FAA Launches Probe
Firefighters from Sterling Volunteer Fire Department and Fairfax County quickly tackled the brush fire caused by falling debris.
Dulles Airport confirmed the fire was extinguished by 2:30pm and that other runways remained operational during the emergency.
The airport thanked concerned travellers in a statement: “Thanks to those who reached out with your concerns.”
The FAA has opened a full investigation into what caused the engine failure. Meanwhile, United Airlines is arranging a replacement aircraft to get passengers flying again.
Passengers Share Smoke and Chaos Online
Stranded travellers at Dulles snapped dramatic photos of smoke and flashing emergency lights flooding the runway.
One passenger tweeted: “On a plane about to take off at Dulles Airport. Runway closed due to an ‘incident.’ Lots of smoke and flashing lights. Praying it’s not a crash.”
Another added: “Flying out of Dulles and our runway is closed due to an emergency. Lots of smoke.”
Flight data shows Flight 803 took off at 12:19pm and returned at 2:16pm after circling the airport – a tense but safe ending to a terrifying ordeal.
