United Airlines flight makes emergency landing at Dulles after pilot declares mayday

Boeing 787 Dreamliner United Airlines aircraft at the international airport Leonardo Da Vinci. Fiumicino, Italy, on July 8. (Mondadori Portfolio/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

A United Airlines flight travelling from Washington Dulles International Airport made an emergency landing last month after the pilot declared a mayday call shortly after takeoff due to suspected engine failure.

United flight 108, bound for Munich, Germany, was forced to return to Dulles on July 25 “to address a mechanical issue,” the airline told CNN.

The plane, a Boeing 787, was carrying 219 passengers and 11 crew members, the airline said.

Minutes into its ascent and at nearly 5,000 feet, the pilot told air traffic control, “Engine failure, left engine, United 108 declaring an emergency. Mayday, mayday, mayday,” according to recorded air traffic control audio.

An air traffic controller asked the pilot, “Are you able to make your way back to the field at this time” by turning right. “There’s nobody between you and the field,” the controller said.

Data from flight tracking site Flightradar 24 showed the flight departed around 6:11 p.m. ET before it circled back and landed safely at Dulles around two hours later.

In a statement to CNN, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said the plane was checked by Airports Authority Fire and Rescue personnel, then towed to a gate. “There was no disruption to other flights,” MWAA said.

“The plane landed safely, and all passengers deplaned normally at the gate. The flight was subsequently canceled and we arranged alternate travel arrangements to take customers to their destination as soon as possible,” United said in its statement.

By Alex Stambaugh, CNN