Boeing 787 Dreamliner of United Airlines makes ‘Mayday’ call after takeoff

This incident with United Airlines comes a month after an Air India flight headed to London's Gatwick Airport crashed in Ahmedabad, moments after taking off.

Updated on: Jul 29, 2025, 17:55:57 IST

By HT News Desk

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In a major flight scare, a Munich-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft operated by United Airlines, with callsign UA108, issued a “Mayday” alert after its left engine failed moments after taking off from Washington.

Pilots of the Munich-bound United Airlines Flight UA108 issued a mayday alert after its left engine failed moments after taking off from Washington. (AFP)

This incident comes a month after an Air India flight headed to London's Gatwick Airport crashed in Gujarat's Ahmedabad, moments after taking off. The aircraft marked the first fatal crash of a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner and killed around 260 people.

United Airlines flight declares ‘Mayday’

Flight UA108 declared a MAYDAY call on July 25, 2025, after its left engine malfunctioned at an altitude of around 5,000 feet, shortly after the plane took off.

The pilots notified air traffic controllers and began emergency procedures to return safely to the airport. As per data from FlightAware, the United Airlines aircraft remained air-bound for 2 hours and 38 minutes after the 'Mayday' alert was issued.

Also Read | Air India completes check of all Boeing planes, says no issues found

FlightAware added that the aircraft continued to circle northwest of Washington in a holding pattern to safely dump fuel before landing back at Washington Dulles Airport.

The United Airlines flight incident came days after an emergency involving an American Airlines flight at Denver International Airport. On Saturday, passengers aboard AA Flight 3023 were evacuated via emergency slides after reports of smoke in the cabin.

The Boeing 737 MAX 8, bound for Miami, experienced what the FAA described as a "possible landing gear incident." American Airlines later said the issue occurred due to an aircraft tire.

As per the report from Aviation A2Z, the pilots called for a fuel dumping and coordinated with ATC operators for a safe separation from other air traffic to safely discharge the fuel.

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