A United Airlines Boeing 787-9 departing for Cape Town made a precautionary return to Newark after reporting a spoiler problem on 3 August 2025.
United Airlines flight UA1122, operated by a Boeing 787-9, had conducted a departure from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR).
The flight was a scheduled service bound for Cape Town International Airport (CPT).
United Airlines UA1122 Newark-Cape Town
As the flight across the Atlantic Ocean approximately 250 nautical miles from Newark on flight plan track, flight crew reported a problem with the aircraft’s spoilers.
As a result, a precautionary return to Newark Liberty (EWR) was carried out. During the direct return flight crew dumped fuel to facilitate the early return landing.
The flight subsequently landed without further incident on runway 22R, just under two hours after its initial departure.
According to the Aviation Herald, a passenger aboard the flight reported that there were noticeable vibrations from the airframe. This occurred approximately 30 minutes into the flight.
An announcement was then made from the flight deck. It advising that the aircraft had “lost part of a wing” and was returning to Newark.
Flight & Aircraft Details
Flight data shows that flight UA1122 had made a slightly delayed departure from Newark Liberty at 9:22 PM local time on 3 August.
Scheduled departure time for the rotation to Cape Town was listed as 8:10 PM local time.
Following departure, the aircraft had climbed to flight level FL330, and was negotiating the Atlantic crossing when the turnaround was initiated.
The aircraft conducting the UA1122 service to Cape Town was a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, registered N23983. This is a 4.9 year old widebody aircraft belonging to the carrier United Airlines.
It has been in operational service with the airline since its initial delivery from the factory in September 2020.
Previous Emergency
Notably, this aircraft was involved in a previous emergency while operating as flight UA82 in July 2025.
In that instance, the aircraft was performing a scheduled service from Newark Liberty International Airport to New Delhi. The flight was discontinued over the Atlantic Ocean and a direct return to Newark was carried out. The nature of the emergency in that instance is not known.
