United Airlines Boeing 787 returns to Newark due to mid-flight spoiler warning

United Airlines told Simple Flying that “a spoiler indication message illuminated during the flight,” which led to a precautionary return to Newark. After landing, maintenance teams inspected the aircraft but found no visible issues with the spoiler; they resolved the warning light problem before returning it to service.

Flight tracking data shows that N23983 is now back in operation, flying domestic routes such as Newark to Houston and scheduled for further international flights later in the day. Delivered new in September 2020, this Boeing 787-9 has been serving long-haul routes for nearly five years.

This recent event follows another technical incident involving N23983 last month on flight UA82 from Newark to Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport. On that occasion, pilots declared an emergency and turned back over the Gulf of Maine after receiving an automated maintenance message about a fault in one of its electronics cooling systems—a critical component for protecting avionics systems.

Additionally, days before this latest occurrence, another United Airlines Boeing 787 experienced an engine failure shortly after departing Washington Dulles International Airport en route to Munich. Flight UA108’s crew declared mayday after losing power in one engine while climbing through 5,000 feet. The aircraft dumped fuel and returned safely with all passengers and crew unharmed (https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/united-airlines-flight-engine-failure-b2539777.html). United canceled that flight while safety checks were performed and arranged alternate travel for affected passengers.

In response to these incidents, United stated: "the flight returned to the airport 'to address a mechanical issue.'"