On the afternoon of May 26, at Terminal 3 of Beijing Capital International Airport, United Airlines flight UA889 reportedly experienced a suspected fire in its right engine during the takeoff phase, leading to the flight's cancellation. In the early hours of May 27, a passenger on the flight confirmed that everyone on board was safe and the airline had rescheduled the flight for the same time on the 27th.

Public information indicates that flight UA889 on May 26 was operated by a Boeing 777-222(ER) wide-body twin-aisle aircraft, 27.6 years old, flying from Beijing to San Francisco. Its actual takeoff time was 5:45 PM.

A passenger seated by the window on the right side of the aircraft recalled hearing an unusual noise during acceleration on the runway, followed by a flash of fire under the right wing. Just as the plane’s nose began to lift — with the wheels still on the ground — the aircraft suddenly braked hard, aborting takeoff on the runway. Several firefighters arrived and sprayed liquid on both engines. Multiple fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars were present near the aircraft. The captain made an onboard announcement in a relatively calm tone, informing passengers that the right engine had malfunctioned and quipped, “It looks like one engine won’t get us to San Francisco.”

Beijing Capital International Airport confirmed that the May 26 UA889 flight was canceled but stated that other airport operations were normal. The rescheduled UA889 flight is planned to depart at 5:25 PM on May 27. Details about the fire incident have not been disclosed.

United Airlines customer service stated that flight UA889 on May 26 was unable to take off due to a “technical fault.”

A maintenance engineer from a major domestic airline who has long worked on Boeing aircraft analyzed passenger footage and preliminarily concluded that the right engine emitted a burst of flame, but it is unclear whether the fire persisted. “If the fire continued burning, then the situation would have been more critical.” The “sudden brake” was actually a “rejected takeoff,” which is standard procedure if the aircraft has not reached its V1 decision speed — the maximum speed at which a takeoff can be safely aborted. “That’s why there was a hard brake — usually not a serious issue.”

According to public aviation sources, V1 speed is a technical term indicating the critical decision point during takeoff. If a failure occurs at or below this speed, pilots must abort the takeoff and ensure the aircraft can stop safely within the remaining runway. If the aircraft is past V1, takeoff must continue regardless of failure.

The same engineer explained that if the fire had occurred after the landing gear was retracted, the aircraft might have needed to return to the airport. “If the fire stops, they would likely need to dump fuel to reduce weight before landing. But if the fire continues and they can’t dump fuel, the situation becomes more dangerous.” He added that while the plane itself is relatively old, it may be fitted with newer engines. “Engine issues aren’t necessarily linked to aircraft age. But if it’s wiring or structural, then age might be a factor.”