A Lufthansa Boeing 747 was forced to dump fuel over the German countryside on Sunday the 11th of August. The aircraft suffered a stalled engine on departure from Frankfurt Airport bound for Shanghai.

Occasionally aircraft need to return to their airport of origin. For one reason or another, this can range from deflated tires to parts of a wing falling off. However, Lufthansa's flight to nowhere entry sees a Boeing 747 returning after dumping fuel. The pilot of the aircraft was not prepared to fly to Shanghai with only three engines available after one stalled.

The flight

Lufthansa flight LH732 is the German airline's scheduled service from Frankfurt to Shanghai. The flight is scheduled to depart from Frankfurt at 22:05, before touching down in Shanghai at 14:50 the next day. However, on Sunday 11th August, the flight departed from Frankfurt around 22:54 according to data from FlightRadar24.

The aircraft was carrying 370 people when, during takeoff, the right inboard engine (3) stalled according to The Aviation Herald. The aircraft then climbed to 18,000 feet in order to dump fuel. According to the aircraft's flight path, it proceeded to dump fuel over parts of the Hesse countryside in Germany. The flight passed right overhead the Open Flair music festival in Eschwege while dumping fuel, where 20,000 people were in attendance.

Following around 90 minutes in the air, the aircraft touched back down in Frankfurt on the runway from which it had taken off. While the aircraft was followed by the fire brigade on landing, it went on to taxi to a gate where the passengers were offloaded. According to data from Flight Radar, the aircraft (D-ABVU) is still on the ground in Frankfurt two days later. The aircraft that was operating the flight is just over 20 years old and has only flown with Lufthansa.

Lufthansa's response

Simple Flying reached out to Lufthansa. In response to our request for comment, a representative told us:

"Lufthansa flight LH732 on its way from Frankfurt to Shanghai returned to Frankfurt Airport on 11 August 2019 shortly after takeoff. Due to a technical irregularity, the cockpit crew decided to return to Frankfurt as a precaution. In preparation for the landing, the Boeing 747-400 aircraft had to perform a fuel dump to reduce weight in order to have a safe landing in Frankfurt. The aircraft landed normally in Frankfurt.

They went on to add: "As a precautionary measure, the airport fire brigade also arrived during the landing, which is a standard procedure in such cases. Safety is Lufthansa number one priority at all times. Lufthansa regrets any inconvenience caused to passengers and provided a replacement aircraft the next morning to transport passengers to Shanghai."

The Boeing 747 can fly on three engines

The Boeing 747 is actually capable of flying with only three engines operational. British Airways proved this on a flight from Los Angeles to London, much to the displeasure of the FAA. In 2005, a British Airways Boeing 747 lost its number two engine climbing out of Los Angeles International Airport.

The flight ended up continuing to land in the UK, however, the FAA wanted to fine the British flag carrier $25,000. Thankfully the issue was eventually solved as Flight Global reported: "the FAA will recognize the CAA's determination that the aircraft was not unairworthy".

Were you onboard the flight on Sunday? Let us know your experience in the comments.