News/Commentary

United hit with FIFTH troubling incident in just over a week as fuel leak forces turnaround

March 13, 2024 | | Print Article

In a troubling fifth incident that has occurred in just over a week, United Airlines had a US-bound Boeing 777-300 aircraft leak fuel upon takeoff from Sydney, Australia.

The leak could be seen as the aircraft took off. It was forced to return to Sydney, making an emergency landing instead of continuing to San Francisco on Monday.

ABC 7 reported that United Airlines Flight 830 departed on a 14-hour flight to San Francisco. Two hours into the trip, the aircraft was forced to return over a “maintenance issue.” It’s unknown why it took so long for the leak to be detected since it could be seen on takeoff.

A statement from United claims, “All 183 passengers and crew onboard ‘landed safely, and passengers deplaned normally at the gate.'” No injuries were reported.

ADVERTISEMENT

“The incident happened the same day that at least 50 people were injured when a LATAM Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner experienced a ‘strong movement’ on a flight to New Zealand,” Fox Business reported.

“The plane dipped so dramatically into a nose dive for a couple of seconds and around 30 people hit the ceiling hard,” Daniel, one passenger on board that aircraft, stated according to the New York Post.

United Airlines is having a very bad couple of weeks.

A Boeing 737 was forced to make a landing in Texas on March 4 minutes after liftoff when flames burst from one of its engines. A video shows flames exploding from the engine.

ADVERTISEMENT

The aircraft was only “approximately 15 minutes” into a two-hour flight headed to Fort Myers, Florida when the engine caught fire. There were no injuries reported.

“On March 7, a United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Japan was forced to divert to Los Angeles International Airport after one of the landing gear on the Boeing 777-20 fell off after takeoff,” the New York Post also reported.

Video footage shows one of the aircraft’s six tires falling off. The flight landed safely at LAX with no injuries.

ADVERTISEMENT

The day after that, United Flight 821 departing San Francisco International Airport on its way to Mexico City was diverted to Los Angeles “due to an issue with the aircraft’s hydraulic system.”

“That same day, a United Airlines flight went off a runway at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, forcing passengers to evacuate,” the New York Post noted.

The Boeing 737 MAX 8, coming in from Memphis, “rolled onto the grass when exiting onto the taxiway around 8 a.m.,” the Federal Aviation Administration noted in a statement.

ADVERTISEMENT

All of this follows the mysterious “alleged” suicide of a Boeing whistleblower. John Barnett had been a quality inspector with the company for three decades. His attorney is very suspicious of Barnett’s supposed suicide. He was found with a “self-inflicted” gunshot wound in his truck in the parking lot of his South Carolina hotel last Saturday.

Barnett was in town to provide further testimony in his whistleblower lawsuit against the company. He never showed up.

Boeing issued a memo to employees on Tuesday over the incidents. The company is adding weekly compliance checks for every 737 work area and additional equipment audits.

“Our teams are working to simplify and streamline our processes and address the panel’s recommendations,” the memo informed employees. “We will not hesitate in stopping a production line or keeping an airplane in position.”

“The Federal Aviation Administration found dozens of issues throughout Boeing’s 737 MAX jet production process, including mechanics at one of its key suppliers using a hotel key card and dish soap as makeshift tools to test compliance,” the New York Post wrote.

“The FAA discovered ‘unacceptable’ quality control issues during an audit of Boeing and supplier Spirit AeroSystems that was launched after a door plug flew off a 737 MAX 9 at 16,000 feet on Jan. 5,” the media outlet added.

Latest posts by Terresa Monroe-Hamilton (see all)

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

Latest Articles