Tokyo-Bound United Airlines Flight Loses Engine On Take‑Off, Makes Emergency Landing At Dulles Airport

Dulles: A United Airlines Boeing 777‑200, carrying 275 passengers and a crew of 15, was climbing out of Washington Dulles International Airport when one of its engines sputtered and lost power on Saturday. The flight, destined for Tokyo, was forced to make an immediate U-turn after takeoff, touching down safely at the airport around 1.20 pm.

According to reports, the pilots declared an emergency as soon as the engine faltered, followed standard procedures and kept the plane under control while the crew prepared for an immediate landing. The aircraft eventually made a safe landing without incident and no one on board was hurt.

The foreign media reports asserted that as the aircraft taxied back to the terminal, a small fire sparked in the brush beside the runway, which was reportedly due to the engine failure, according to airport spokesperson Emily McGee. The airport fire crews were called to the site within minutes, who extinguished the flames before they could spread.

Following the landing of the flight, all the passengers were ushered off the aircraft and taken safely to the terminal, where the airline arranged for a replacement aircraft to take them to Tokyo later in the day. The airline management hailed the flight crew and the ground teams for their quick action and apologised to the passengers for the inconvenience.

The Federal Aviation Administration has opened an inquiry into the engine malfunction. The investigators will examine the flight‑data recorder, maintenance logs and the engine itself to determine the cause of the power loss and to ensure such an event does not happen again.

United Airlines has assured that it would work with the FAA and its own technical experts to resolve the issue before returning the aircraft to service. 

Further details regarding the incident are awaited.