A United Airlines flight carrying 230 people declared an emergency moments after taking off from Washington’s Dulles International Airport, with an audio recording capturing the pilot’s repeated “mayday” call to air traffic control.
Flight 108 was only moments into its June 25 ascent to Germany’s Munich International Airport when its pilot reported an engine failure, according to a tower recording.
“Failure. Engine failure. Left Engine, United 108. Declaring an emergency. Mayday, mayday, mayday,” the pilot is heard saying in the recording obtained and published on YouTube by You Can See ATC.
Air traffic control and the pilot discussed preparations for returning to the airport, including the need to dump fuel to adjust for the proper weight needed for landing, according to the audio.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner landed safely shortly after, with “all passengers deplaned normally at the gate,” a spokesperson for United said in a statement Monday.
