A United Airlines flight traveling 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.
Any pilot nerds out there? Is this a normal situation to use “mayday” for? I know that plane can fly with one engine (though not sure if that’s the case during ascent at only 5000 ft), but it seems like ATC would give them priority as soon as they asked for it.
I sort of thought mayday was only for extremely dire circumstances.
Engine failure during take-off is one of the most extreme dire circumstance an aircraft can be in.
Flying with one engine is one thing, but climbing with only one will push the remaining engine to the absolute limit, so you want to get back down ASAP.
#stall
It’s not as bad as the news makes it sound but it’s not a great situation. With all the posts on mundane airline issues I’m thinking someone is out to give the industry a black eye. It’s still the safest form of travel.
This sort of mechanical issue does happen, and isn’t particularly new. This seems to be mechanical, and I’m more worried about what’s happening with the air traffic controllers.
That said, it’s still the safest form of travel until it isn’t. There doesn’t have to be that many plane accidents with all passengers lost before it overtakes the number two and three safest forms of travel (railroad and busses). The ATC situation could easily collapse quickly.
Agree with ATC being a much larger issue.
It’s statistically the safest.
But stats don’t really matter when it’s you on the plane and you go down and are almost guaranteed to die.