CHICAGO- United Airlines (UA) Boeing 777-200 operating flight UA926 from San Francisco (SFO) to Frankfurt (FRA) returned to its departure airport on July 9, 2026, after the crew shut down the right-hand engine in flight.
The aircraft, registration N228UA, was climbing through FL290 when the Pratt & Whitney PW4090 engine emitted a loud bang. The crew stopped the climb and landed safely back at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) about one hour after departure.
United Airlines 777 Engine Shutdown
The transatlantic service was still in the climb when the crew reported a problem with the right-hand engine.
The aircraft was passing FL290 when the engine emitted a bang. The crew stopped the climb, shut the engine down, and decided to return to San Francisco.
The Boeing 777-200 landed on runway 28R about one hour after it had departed. The incident was also reported by The Aviation Herald.
Passengers on board reported a loud bang from the right-hand engine.
They also reported that the cabin lights flickered, after which the engine was shut down.
Replacement Aircraft Sent To Frankfurt
United Airlines (UA) assigned a replacement Boeing 777-200, registration N799UA, to operate the transatlantic sector.
The replacement aircraft arrived in Frankfurt approximately 5.5 hours late.
The Boeing 777-200 involved, N228UA, was still on the ground in San Francisco about 37 hours after landing.
United has not issued a public statement on the technical cause of the engine shutdown, and no investigation findings have been released.
The PW4090 Engine
The PW4090 belongs to the Pratt & Whitney PW4000-112 engine family, which powers the earliest Boeing 777s.
The 90,000-pound thrust PW4090 variant entered service in March 1997, and Boeing stopped building the 777 with Pratt & Whitney PW4000 series engines in 2013, meaning the engine is no longer in production.
United Airlines (UA) is the largest remaining operator of Boeing 777s fitted with this engine type.
Previous United PW4000 Incidents
The engine family has been involved in two significant United events. On February 13, 2018, flight UA1175 from San Francisco to Honolulu experienced an in-flight fan blade separation in the right engine at FL360, with the crew reporting a loud bang followed by severe airframe vibration.
On February 20, 2021, flight UA328 from Denver to Honolulu suffered a fan blade separation caused by metal fatigue shortly after takeoff, resulting in an engine fire and the loss of large sections of cowling and inlet over Broomfield, Colorado.
The FAA responded with an Emergency Airworthiness Directive requiring immediate inspection of PW4000 series fan blades. No link has been established between those events and the July 9 shutdown.
Bottom Line
United Airlines flight UA926 from San Francisco (SFO) to Frankfurt (FRA) returned safely on July 9, 2026, after the crew shut down the right-hand PW4090 engine of Boeing 777-200 N228UA during the climb through FL290.
Passengers reached Frankfurt about 5.5 hours late aboard replacement Boeing 777-200 N799UA. The occurrence aircraft remained on the ground in San Francisco about 37 hours after landing.
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