ENG25LA038

NTSB incident investigation · Boeing 777 · Beijing, China · May 26, 2025

IncidentClass 3 · LimitedPreliminary report
Date
May 26, 2025, 22:25 local (22:25 UTC)
Place
Beijing, China
Damage
Minor damage
Phase of flight
Takeoff
Aircraft
N793UABoeing 777
Defining event
Takeoff-rejected takeoff: Powerplant sys/comp malf/fail
Status
Investigation ongoing
Investigation class
Class 3
NTSB office
Aviation Engineering Division
Parties
FAA, Pratt & Whitney, United Airlines FS
Case key
200307

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the incident.

On this page

Preliminary report

What NTSB knew early in the investigation. It may change in the final report.

On May 26, 2025, at approximately 0925 UTC, a Boeing 777-200, registration N793UA, operated as United Airlines flight 889, executed a rejected takeoff at Beijing Capital International Airport when the crew heard a loud bang and followed by a No. 2 (right) engine failure warning. The airplane came to an uneventful stop on the runway, passengers were deplaned, and the airplane was later defueled and towed clear of the runway. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 flight from Beijing Capital International Airport (ZBAA) to San Francisco International Airport (KSFO), San Francisco, California. The airplane data recorders will be downloaded at the NTSB Headquarters in Washington, DC, and the No. 2 engine was removed further examination. The Civil Aviation Administration of China declined to investigate and as such the NTSB is leading the investigation as the State of Registry/Manufacturer in accordance with ICAO Annex 13 guidelines. Additional parties to the investigation include the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Boeing, United Airlines, and Pratt & Whitney.

Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.

Aircraft

Registration
N793UA
Reported as
Boeing 777 (200)
Category
Airplane
Damage
Minor damage
Flight
Part 121
Operator
United Airlines
Departed
ZBAA · Beijing
Destination
KSFO · San Francisco, CA

Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.