EVA Air aircraft Boeing 777-300 suddenly returned to Los Angeles International Airport on July 13, 2024, because of an engine malfunction. The incident occurred right in the middle of a scheduled trip to Taipei, Taiwan.
Flight BR5 was operated by a Boeing 777-300ER, registered as B-16716. It left LAX on schedule at 12:44 PM local time. With GE90 engines, this aircraft had been in operational service with EVA Air since December 2009 and was approaching almost 15 years of good operation.
The aircraft climbed initially to its cruise height of 31,000 feet over the Pacific before leveling out. That peaceful Zen was torn apart by the indication from the right-hand engine. Apparently, due to this technical fault, the pilots decided to return to Los Angeles Airport on a precautionary basis.
The crew instituted single-engine drift-down standard operating procedures. This carefully worked-out procedure is designed to permit the pilot to descend safely and retain control of his aircraft while it is on reduced power. This finally means that the altitude at which single operations are performed is calculated based on weight, configuration, and distance of the flight.
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The plane at first leveled off at 19,000 feet for its turn-around altitude according to flight data. With an ailing engine, the pilots managed to land the airliner safely at LAX, ending an eventful flight that finished just over eight hours from its initial departure.
The Boeing 777-300ER was a wide-body and mature fleet that served EVA Air very well for an average of 14.7 years. This forced return thus reminds everybody of the absolute need for severe safety procedures and the skills of commercial airliner pilots in handling situations such as this.
The event emphasizes the safety considerations inflight and the efficiency of preventive measures to protect passengers. While the cause of the engine problem is yet to be identified, the incident simply underlined how the world of aviation is sensitive to making stringent compromises when questions of safety arise.