Flight Scare In US As Boeing 787 Declares "Mayday" Soon After Takeoff

A Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, operated by United Airlines, experienced a mid-air scare last week due to a critical engine failure. The Munich-bound United Airlines Flight UA108 was climbing out of Washington Dulles Airport on its scheduled transatlantic journey on July 25, when its left engine failed, prompting the crew to declare a "MAYDAY". 

The engine malfunction was reported shortly after the flight departed from Washington Dulles and reached an altitude of 5,000 feet. The crew soon declared an emergency and worked closely with air traffic controllers to ensure a safe emergency landing.

According to data from FlightAware, the aircraft remained airbound for 2 hours and 38 minutes, circling northwest of Washington in a holding pattern to safely dump fuel before landing back at Washington Dulles Airport. 

During this time, the United Airlines pilots requested air traffic controllers (ATC)  for fuel dumping while maintaining an altitude of  6,000 feet to manage the plane's weight and entered a holding pattern northwest of Washington, a report by aviationa2z said. 

The controllers guided them on how to ensure safe separation from other air traffic while the aircraft safely discharged fuel. Once the dump was complete, pilots sought permission to land using an Instrument Landing System (ILS) approach on Runway 19 Centre.

Upon landing, the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner could not move on its own and had to be towed off the runway due to the disabled left engine. It remained grounded at Washington Dulles Airport as of Monday. 

There were no injuries in the incident, and the technical malfunction is expected to be investigated further by the airline and relevant aviation authorities.