Last weekend, a United Airlines Boeing 777 operating UA164 to Dubai had to u-turn immediately back to Newark with an issue onboard.
United Airlines flight UA164 is a routine scheduled flight between Newark and Dubai.
Furthermore, the aircraft involved in the incident is understood to be N77022.
As per data from Planespotters.net, N77022 is a 14.1 year old Boeing 777-200 that started out life with Continental Airlines in July 2010.
Following the merger with United Airlines, the aircraft was transferred to the UA registry in October 2010.
Of the 777-200 variant, UA has 74 of them in their fleet.
Moreover, of that 74, all but four are in active service, with an average fleet age of 25.2 years.
As well as the 777-200, United Airlines has the following other aircraft in their mainline fleet:
81 Airbus A319s.
84 Airbus A320s.
14 Airbus A321neos.
507 Boeing 737s.
61 Boeing 757s.
53 Boeing 767s.
22 Boeing 777-300ERs.
71 Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
United Airlines flight UA164 departed Newark at 2126 local time on July 27 bound for Dubai.
It was just after departure where the issues began for the Boeing 777.
Following a technical issue with the aircraft, of which the specified issue wasn’t noted, the aircraft had to make a u-turn back to the airport.
After a series of deviations, the aircraft made safe passage back to Newark without further incident.
It is key to note also that the aircraft didn’t utilise the 7700 squawk code, indicating the issue was under control.
Aircraft Grounded For Two Days Following the Incident…
Data from RadarBox indicates that N77022, the Boeing 777 involved in the incident on United Airlines UA164 to Dubai was grounded in Newark for two days following this incident.
On July 29, the aircraft re-entered commercial service, and has operated the following flights since:
UA1504 to Chicago.
UA1862 to Washington Dulles.
UA8100 to Newark.
And more!
No further incidents have been reported with the aircraft following the incident.
This indicates that the issue at hand has been fixed and the aircraft is in safe and normal operation once again.
As soon as we have more information pertinent to the specific technical issue at hand, then we will update you accordingly.