A United Airlines Boeing 767-300, registration N677UA, turned back to Newark Liberty International Airport after the crew reported a loud squeal on the flight deck.
The aircraft had just departed as flight UA16 for London Heathrow and landed back safely roughly 50 minutes later.
The Crew Asked To Level Off Before Declaring An Emergency
Flight UA16 was climbing out of Newark when the crew requested to level the aircraft off at flight level 310 rather than continue the climb, telling air traffic control they needed to work on an ongoing issue.
The request suggests the problem had already surfaced in the early minutes of the flight, before the 767 reached its planned cruising altitude for the transatlantic crossing to Heathrow.
Shortly after levelling off, the crew declared an emergency and requested to return to Newark.
The stated reason was a loud squeal audible on the flight deck, though no further detail on its source has been released.
A squeal reported by the flight crew rather than passengers points to a system local to the cockpit, but without an official cause confirmed, The Aviation Hub is not speculating further at this stage.
The Boeing 767 Landed Safely On Runway 22R at Newark…
Having declared the emergency, the crew brought N677UA back around to Newark and landed on runway 22R.
The aircraft touched down safely about 50 minutes after it had first departed, meaning the entire flight, from pushback to the return landing, played out inside less than an hour. The short duration reflects how early in the climb the issue was first flagged.
N677UA Has Flown For United Since Shortly After Its Delivery In 2001
The airframe involved in the Newark emergency, manufacturer serial number 30029 and line number 852, first flew on 10 September 2001 and was delivered to United a little over two months later, on 14 November 2001.
It was built at Boeing’s Everett site in Washington as a standard 767-322ER and later received winglets, in November 2012, becoming the 767-322ER(WL) it remains today.
The aircraft is now 25 years old and is listed as active.
Carrying fleet number 6677, N677UA is powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW4056 engines. Its cabin has been reconfigured twice since entering service.
It flew in a 34 business, 210 economy layout until November 2012, then moved to a 30 business, 184 economy configuration that lasted until March 2022, when it was reconfigured again to its current 46 business, 22 premium economy and 99 economy layout.
Like a number of United’s widebody fleet, the aircraft spent time in storage during the pandemic downturn, held at Houston Intercontinental from late March to early October 2020 before moving to Wilmington Air Park in Ohio until early December that year.
The Aircraft Returned To Service About A Day Later
N677UA remained on the ground at Newark for around 23 hours following the diversion before returning to service.
Twenty five years after its first flight, and having weathered a pandemic storage spell along the way, the airframe was back in the air on the North Atlantic within a day of the emergency return.
What Comes Next Following Newark Incident…
United has not detailed the maintenance work carried out on N677UA between its return to Newark and its next departure.
The Aviation Hub will update this article should further information on the cause of the flight deck squeal become available.
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