
United Air Flight From Nigeria Probed by US Safety Officials
Flight 613, Boeing Co. 787-8, was enroute from Lagos, Nigeria, to Washington Dulles International Airport on Jan. 24 when the movement occurred, forcing the flight to return, the NTSB said Monday in a post on social media platform X. United on Friday described the problem as a 'technical issue,' and said the flight did not involve severe turbulence.
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Yahoo
04-08-2025
- Yahoo
Why a United Airlines mayday isn't as scary as it sounds
When a United Airlines flight issued a mayday call shortly after departure, passengers onboard were doubtlessly scared. One of the Boeing 787's engines had failed, and the plane was forced to return to Washington Dulles International Airport, rather than continuing over the Atlantic to Munich, where it was bound that Friday evening. Fortunately, the plane landed safely, and no injuries were reported – a testament to effective pilot training and the overall safety of air travel. Any time a plane suffers a flight-disrupting incident, it has the chance to become front-page news, which is perhaps a sign of just how safe flying is. Scores of fatal car accidents go unreported by the national media every day, but a flight that returns to its departure airport, even if no one is hurt, seems worthy of our attention. Flying remains, by far, the safest way to travel in the U.S., as proven by the 2024 Transportation Statistics Report from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. 'Transportation incidents for all modes claimed 44,546 lives in 2022, of which all but 2,032 involved highway motor vehicles. Preliminary estimates for 2023 suggest a further decline in fatalities,' the report says. 'There were no deaths from crashes on large commercial airlines in 2023, but several hundred deaths occurred in crashes in general aviation, commuter air, and air taxi services.' In January, an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines regional jet over the Potomac River, killing 67 people between the two aircraft. It was an absolute tragedy, but also a statistical anomaly, and the first fatal crash of a commercial airliner in U.S. airspace in nearly 15 years. Is flying safe?: Here's what travelers should know. Airplanes are also designed with safety and redundancy in mind. The 787 that operated United's diverted flight on Friday is capable of flying for hours on a single engine. So, while pilots prioritized getting the plane back on the ground expeditiously, the aircraft itself would have been capable of reaching a runway much farther afield if needed. Pilots and cabin crews, too, are trained to keep safety at the forefront, and are almost always credited with assuring the best possible outcome when something goes awry. So, passengers should continue flying without too much concern. As the adage goes, you're much more likely to get injured on your drive to the airport than you are in the sky. Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and you can reach him at zwichter@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Engine failure midair? Here's why flying is still the safest way

Business Insider
04-08-2025
- Business Insider
A United Boeing 787 suffered an engine failure, forcing it to dump fuel and make an emergency landing after 30 minutes
A United Airlines plane was forced to make an emergency landing after one of its engines stopped working. Flight 108 departed Washington Dulles around 8 p.m. on Friday, July 25, more than two hours behind schedule. The 12-year-old Boeing 787 Dreamliner then spent around 30 minutes in the air before returning to the airport, which is just outside the nation's capital. In separate statements, United and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said this was due to "a mechanical issue." Air traffic control audio published by and later uploaded to YouTube provides more insight into the incident. It shows how the pilots declared an emergency, having only ascended to around 5,000 feet. "Engine failure, left engine," a pilot can be heard saying. "Mayday, mayday, mayday." The wide-body plane was carrying 230 people and enough fuel to reach Munich, a seven-hour, over 4,000-mile flight away. Before it could land, the controller guided the pilots a few miles away from the airport where it could safely dump fuel. "Attention all aircraft, fuel dumping in progress, 10 miles west of Dulles," the tower can be heard announcing. While losing an engine can be scary, modern twin-engine jets like the 787 are designed to be able to fly safely with just one. Such scenarios are also practiced in pilot training. "The plane landed safely, and all passengers deplaned normally at the gate," United's statement said. The MWAA added that the plane was checked by fire and rescue personnel, then towed to a gate. "The flight was subsequently canceled and we arranged alternate travel arrangements to take customers to their destination as soon as possible," said United. The plane involved in the incident, registered as N27901, returned to service three days later. It has since flown eleven times with destinations in Greece and West Africa.


USA Today
04-08-2025
- USA Today
Why a United Airlines mayday isn't as scary as it sounds
When a United Airlines flight issued a mayday call shortly after departure, passengers onboard were doubtlessly scared. One of the Boeing 787's engines had failed, and the plane was forced to return to Washington Dulles International Airport, rather than continuing over the Atlantic to Munich, where it was bound that Friday evening. Fortunately, the plane landed safely, and no injuries were reported – a testament to effective pilot training and the overall safety of air travel. Any time a plane suffers a flight-disrupting incident, it has the chance to become front-page news, which is perhaps a sign of just how safe flying is. Scores of fatal car accidents go unreported by the national media every day, but a flight that returns to its departure airport, even if no one is hurt, seems worthy of our attention. Flying remains, by far, the safest way to travel in the U.S., as proven by the 2024 Transportation Statistics Report from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. 'Transportation incidents for all modes claimed 44,546 lives in 2022, of which all but 2,032 involved highway motor vehicles. Preliminary estimates for 2023 suggest a further decline in fatalities,' the report says. 'There were no deaths from crashes on large commercial airlines in 2023, but several hundred deaths occurred in crashes in general aviation, commuter air, and air taxi services.' In January, an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines regional jet over the Potomac River, killing 67 people between the two aircraft. It was an absolute tragedy, but also a statistical anomaly, and the first fatal crash of a commercial airliner in U.S. airspace in nearly 15 years. Is flying safe?: Here's what travelers should know. Airplanes are also designed with safety and redundancy in mind. The 787 that operated United's diverted flight on Friday is capable of flying for hours on a single engine. So, while pilots prioritized getting the plane back on the ground expeditiously, the aircraft itself would have been capable of reaching a runway much farther afield if needed. Pilots and cabin crews, too, are trained to keep safety at the forefront, and are almost always credited with assuring the best possible outcome when something goes awry. So, passengers should continue flying without too much concern. As the adage goes, you're much more likely to get injured on your drive to the airport than you are in the sky.