LOS ANGELES — A United Airlines flight bound for Beijing was forced to interrupt its transpacific journey shortly after departure and return to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) due to an emerging technical issue.
United Flight UA771, operated by a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (registration N24988), took off from LAX shortly before 1:00 a.m. local time on what was scheduled to be a nearly 17-hour flight across the Pacific to Beijing Capital International Airport.
However, as the aircraft was making its initial ascent, the crew stopped the climb at 28,000 feet. Soon after entering a holding pattern to circle and address the situation, the flight crew declared an emergency by broadcasting transponder code squawk 7700, the international standard signal for an onboard emergency.
Rather than continuing out over the ocean, the decision was made to turn back toward Southern California.
Upon landing at LAX, the aircraft will be met by ground crews and transferred to a maintenance team, who will troubleshoot the technical fault before determining if or when the aircraft will be cleared to resume service.
