A United Airlines flight was diverted shortly after departing Washington Dulles International Airport on Friday, July 25, when an engine failure caused the pilot to make a mayday call.
United Flight 108 had just taken off for its journey to Munich at around 6 p.m. As the Boeing 787 was ascending to 10,000 feet, its pilot told air traffic control, "Engine failure, left engine, United 108 declaring an emergency. Mayday, mayday, mayday," according to an audio recording.
Air traffic control asked the pilot if the aircraft could make its "way back into the field" by turning right. "There's nobody between you and the field," the air traffic controller said in the recording.
The flight diverted back to Washington Dulles, landing safely at around 8:33 p.m., according to FlightAware.
In a statement, a United Airlines spokesperson confirmed a "mechanical issue" caused the aircraft's diversion.
