United Airlines Flight 803

United Airlines Flight 803

N78004, the aircraft involved
Incident
Date	December 13, 2025 (2025-12-13)
Summary	Engine failure
Site	Washingon, D.C., United States
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Boeing 777-224ER
Registration	N78004
Flight origin	Washington Dulles International Airport, Washington, D.C.
Destination	Tokyo Haneda International Airport, Tokyo, Japan
Occupants	290
Passengers	275
Crew	15
Fatalities	0
Survivors	290

On December 13, 2025, United Airlines Flight 803, a scheduled international passenger flight from Washington Dulles International Airport to Tokyo Haneda suffered a contained engine failure shortly after takeoff. ^[1] The Boeing 777-224ER lost power in one engine, shed debris that ignited a brush fire near a runway, and returned safely to Dulles, where it landed without injuries among the 275 passengers and 15 crew on board at 1:20 pm EST. ^[2]

Incident

United Airlines Flight 803 departed Washington Dulles International Airport on December 13, 2025, bound for Tokyo Haneda, operating a Boeing 777-224ER, registered as N78004. ^{[3] [4]} The aircraft involved was delivered to United Airlines in October 1998. ^[3] Shortly after takeoff, at approximately 12:20 p.m. EST, the crew reported a loss of power in its left engine to air traffic control. During the event, a portion of the engine cowling separated from the aircraft and caught fire after striking the ground near a runway, igniting a small brush fire within the airport perimeter. ^[4] Due to the aircraft’s long-haul fuel load for the transpacific flight, the crew conducted a fuel dump over parts of northern Virginia while remaining in a holding pattern to reduce the aircraft’s landing weight. ^[4] The aircraft landed safely at Washington Dulles at approximately 1:20 p.m. EST. The ground fire was extinguished without further incident. No injuries were reported among the 275 passengers and 15 crew members on board. ^[4] The incident prompted an investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). ^[2]

See also

• United Airlines Flight 1175
• United Airlines Flight 328

References

1. "United Airlines flight safely returns to Dulles airport after engine failure during takeoff". ABC7 New York. 2025-12-14. Retrieved 2025-12-14.
2. Calitri, Lydia (2025-12-13). "United Airlines flight returns to Dulles airport after engine loses power during takeoff". NPR. Retrieved 2025-12-14.
3. "Flight history for aircraft - N78004". Flightradar24. Retrieved 2025-12-14.
4. Elassar, Alaa (2025-12-13). "United flight to Tokyo returns to Dulles after losing power in an engine and igniting brush around runway". CNN. Retrieved 2025-12-14.