A United Airlines flight out of Dulles International Airport made an emergency landing after one of the plane’s engines failed during takeoff on Saturday afternoon.
One of the engines of the Boeing 777-200ER suddenly failed at takeoff around 12:20 p.m., the FAA said, producing sparks and smoke.
United Airlines Flight 803, en route to Tokyo, Japan, then landed safely back at Dulles, the FAA said.
There are no reports of injuries. No parts fell off of the plane, despite social media rumors.
As the plane was taking off and the engine sparked, it also “ignited some brush around the runway,” the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) said in a statement to News4.
The fire was extinguished by airport fire responders, the MWAA said. Those responders also checked the plane.
Smoke from the brush fire was visible from some distance away, and photos and video of the smoking plane were quickly shared on social media.
However, flights continued takeoff and landing at other Dulles runways while emergency crews delt with the United flight, indicating the scale of the emergency was small.
The airport shared a short statement on social media.
“Our fire department extinguished brush that caught fire near a runway around 12:20 p.m. as an aircraft took off,” Dulles said in the statement. “The plane returned safely to Dulles. Flights continued operating on other runways. Thanks to those who reached out with your concerns.”
United Airlines shared a statement with News4 about the engine failure and emergency landing.
“Shortly after takeoff, United flight 803 returned to Washington Dulles and landed safely to address the loss of power in one engine,” the statement said. “There were no reported injuries.”
“We’ve temporarily closed a United Club lounge at Dulles to help assist our customers and work to get them to their destinations,” the statement continued. “United is grateful to our crews and to the teams at Washington Dulles for their quick work to help ensure the safety of everyone involved.”
There were 275 passengers and 15 crew members aboard the flight, United said. Another aircraft will continue the same flight later in the day.
The FAA is investigating.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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