Tokyo-bound United plane returns to Washington after engine fails

A United Airlines Boeing 777 bound for Tokyo had to turn back to Washington's Dulles International Airport on Saturday after an engine failed during takeoff, igniting a brush fire near the runway, officials said.

No injuries were reported among the 275 passengers and 15 crew members aboard the wide-bodied jet, which had to make an emergency landing.

"Shortly after takeoff, United Flight 803 returned to Washington Dulles and landed safely to address a power loss issue with one of its engines," the airline said.

The engine failed as the 777-200ER departed for Tokyo's Haneda Airport at around 12:20 pm (1720 GMT) Saturday, sources told AFP.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on X that a piece of the engine cover "separated and caught fire, sparking a brush fire on the ground."

"The fire was extinguished and the flight returned to Dulles, landing safely at about 1:30 pm, when it was checked by airport fire responders," an airport spokesperson said.

According to the official, the affected runway had to be closed for a short time, "but Dulles has multiple runways and other flight operations were not impacted."

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it would investigate the incident.

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing referred questions to United Airlines.

According to specialist site AirLive, the plane dumped its fuel over the city of Fredericksburg in Virginia, "a critical safety procedure used to reduce the plane's weight to a safe level before attempting an emergency landing."

According to registration information provided by the site, the 777 in Saturday's incident was delivered in November 1998 to Continental Airlines, which was later absorbed in a corporate takeover by United Airlines. The plane is equipped with two General Electric engines -- now known as GE Aerospace.

United Flight 803 took off in a different plane later Saturday, six-and-a-half hours after its original departure time, bound for Haneda.