A United Airlines plane departing Washington Dulles Airport for Munich last Sunday experienced a technical problem that prompted it to issue a Mayday distress call to quickly obtain permission to dump some of its fuel northwest of Washington before landing safely at its departure airport.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner dumped fuel over an empty area in northwest Washington.
«United Airlines flight UA108 turned back following an engine malfunction a few minutes after takeoff. The operation took two hours and thirty-eight minutes.» a spokesperson for the airline announced.
«This type of dump is an exceptional measure left to the discretion of the crew, but requires authorization from air traffic control. The goal is to lighten the aircraft before it lands,» she explained.
Upon returning to their point of departure, the passengers were picked up by United Airlines before being able to depart for their destination at a later time.
Second flight delayed due to technical problem in less than a month
Recalling that this incident is the second of its kind encountered by United Airlines this month, after that of flight UA948 between San Francisco and London Heathrow, also disrupted by a technical problem.