United B764 enroute on Jun 24th 2015, captain disposes of ammunition into toilet

Last Update: July 10, 2015 / 22:53:49 GMT/Zulu time

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Incident Facts

Date of incident
Jun 24, 2015

Classification
Incident

Airline
United

Flight number
UA-104

Departure
Houston, United States

Destination
Munich, Germany

Aircraft Registration
N69059

Aircraft Type
Boeing 767-400

ICAO Type Designator
B764

A United Boeing 767-400, registration N69059 performing flight UA-104 (dep Jun 23rd) from Houston,TX (USA) to Munich (Germany), was enroute when the captain disposed of ammunition (10 bullets) in his possession into the toilet. Later he informed authorities about the ammunition, the flight was continued to Munich where the aircraft landed safely. The aircraft was guided to a remote parking position, where passengers disembarked. The toilet waste tanks were subsequently emptied and searched for the ammunition, 6 bullets were found, Bavaria's Luftamt grounded the aircraft, a second search found the remaining 4 bullets, the aircraft was released to return to service.

The aircraft remained on the ground for 6 hours and departed for its scheduled return flight UA-133 to Washington Dulles,DC (USA) with a delay of 4:15 hours.

A source had told The Aviation Herald that the aircraft was enroute, when the captain discovered that he was still carrying ammunition consisting of 10 bullets in his luggage, the ammunition not being permitted to be taken into Germany. The captain therefore decided to get rid of the ammunition and disposed of the ammunication into a waste bin. "Unfortunately" a passenger lost her ring in flight, the flight attendants assisted in the search for the lost ring and also checked the waste bins. A flight attendant thus discovered the bullets, dutifully brought and reported the bullets to the captain, who now decided to ultimately get rid of the bullets and dumped them down the toilet. Later the flight attendant inquired again about the bullets, the captain realized that she would file a report, explained the situation to her and informed ground. The aircraft was taken to a remote parking position after landing, airport fire fighters used protective suits while emptying and filtering the waste tanks, recovered 6 bullets in that search, Germany's Luftfahrtbundesamt (LBA) grounded the aircraft. A second search discovered the remaining 4 bullets, too, and the aircraft was able to depart for its return flight with a delay of 4 hours.

The Aviation Herald tried to verify the occurrence over the next almost two weeks, stating in all inquiries to Authorities in Germany and the USA that the story is so extremely unbelievable that it must be true again, but remained unsuccessful. Almost about to give up almost two weeks later and stop monitoring the occurrence The Aviation Herald succeeded in getting a first official confirmation from Munich Airport, who confirmed the aircraft had been directed to a remote parking position and departed with a delay, Munich Airport however did not want to comment further on the narration of the event by our source.

A second contact with Germany's LBA (Civil Aviation Authority) brought up the pointer to contact Bavaria's Luftamt, which oversees Bavaria's Civil Aviation on behalf of the LBA. Dr. Simone Hilgers, Press Spokeswoman of Upper Bavaria's Government, told the Aviation Herald on Jul 8th 2015, that they are aware of the occurrence. The details as provided by our source, with the exception of the lost ring not known to the Luftamt, are consistent with the information of the Luftamt.

Later United confirmed that the captain incorrectly disposed of the ammunition, it is not likely though that he needs to face criminal charges. He should not have thrown the bullets into the toilet. Pilots are permitted to carry guns on US domestic flights, the pilot did not carry his gun on the flight to Munich but subsequently realized he still had the ammunition in his bag and dumped the bullets into a waste bin. A passenger looking for a missing ring discovered the bullets, informed a flight attendant, who further informed the captain, who flushed the bullets down the toilet before reaching Germany, which has strict gun laws.

United States Transportation Security Agency confirmed they are investigating the occurrence.
Aircraft Registration Data
Registration mark
N69059
Country of Registration
United States
Date of Registration
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Manufacturer
BOEING
Aircraft Model / Type
767-424ER
Number of Seats
Egq Subscribe to unlock
ICAO Aircraft Type
B764
Year of Manufacture
Pnjp Subscribe to unlock
Serial Number
Pqnnk Subscribe to unlock
Aircraft Address / Mode S Code (HEX)
Cc lfA Subscribe to unlock
Engine Count
J Subscribe to unlock
Engine Manufacturer
Gl Subscribe to unlock
Engine Model
Iidil p qAm l Subscribe to unlock
Engine Type
Bmh nplmA Subscribe to unlock
Pounds of Thrust
PlkAk Subscribe to unlock
Main Owner
Dejlmmpenqihdleekehnpgb fllkqldjfgnehnineifjpkmcAfmbjqAfennmAgqmh hifkikfnd qmifeeidgkkpblA pbmidqjhg Subscribe to unlock
Incident Facts

Date of incident
Jun 24, 2015

Classification
Incident

Airline
United

Flight number
UA-104

Departure
Houston, United States

Destination
Munich, Germany

Aircraft Registration
N69059

Aircraft Type
Boeing 767-400

ICAO Type Designator
B764

This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
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