On August 5, a United Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner made an emergency return flight just 40 minutes after takeoff due to losing part of its wing while flying across the Atlantic.
Accordingly, the incident occurred on a flight departing from Newark Liberty Airport (New York) to Cape Town (South Africa). About 30 minutes after takeoff, many passengers began to feel unusual vibrations. The captain immediately informed them that the plane had losed part of its wings, specifically the rear spoiler.
Faced with the serious situation, the crew immediately decided to return to the mainland. To ensure safety when landing, the plane released fuel in the air to reduce weight, before landing at Newark airport at high speed.
The Boeing was then kept on the ground for 37 hours for technical testing and maintenance. It was not until the morning of August 7 (local time) that the plane was allowed to return to operation.
According to US media, a representative of United Airlines confirmed that the flight had turned around "to handle technical problems", and said that the airline had deployed alternative options to support passengers to continue their journey to South Africa "as soon as possible".
United Airlines has not yet responded officially to the " partial loss of wings" incident.
The incident raised new concerns about the safety of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, in the context of the world aviation industry increasingly dependent on transocational flights.
