Engine Problem Forces Return of China-Bound Jet

A United Airlines jumbo jet bound for Beijing was forced to return to Dulles International Airport shortly after takeoff yesterday after experiencing an engine problem, officials said.

As the Boeing 747 took off at 12:55 p.m., an air traffic controller noticed a fire coming from one of its four engines, officials said.

The pilot also noticed the problem, and the plane then flew over Virginia for about an hour, burning and dumping fuel before it could return to Dulles, the officials said.

Pilots dump and burn off excess fuel to make sure the plane is not too heavy to land. The fuel evaporates before touching the ground.

The plane, which had 330 passengers and 19 crew members, landed without incident about 2 p.m., officials said.

Tara Hamilton, a spokeswoman for Dulles, said the engine problem probably caused a small brush fire near the runway. The fire was extinguished, and the runway was reopened to traffic.

United representatives said they will put the passengers on a different plane, which is scheduled to leave this morning. Today's regularly scheduled Beijing flight will depart as planned at 12:33 p.m., United said.

Shortly after United Flight 897 took off, passenger Amy Brown said, "we saw the thing spew, and flames came out of the engine." She was traveling from Burlington, Vt., to visit a friend who has lived in Beijing for the past year, she said as she waited at Dulles to be taken to a hotel.

The pilot explained that he would have to dump 170,000 gallons of fuel to land, said Anju Kambadur, 27, as more travelers holding only their carry-ons made their way to the hotel shuttle bus stops.

Vanessa Lee, 27, of Charlottesville said she would not have known that anything had happened if the pilot had not made an announcement. Some passengers took the delay in their travel plans in stride; others were unhappy to lose the day.

"I am one day short from my two-week vacation. That is too short for me," said Lindsay Zhang, 25, who did not have the money to switch to a faster flight. Zhangt left Nashville at 6 a.m. yesterday to visit her parents for the first time in two years. "Now I'm stuck here."

The China flight is one of the most high-profile operated by United, which started service between Dulles and Beijing in March.