A US jetliner en route to Beijing, China returned safely to Washington Dulles Airport Friday afternoon after reports of flames coming out of an engine at takeoff, CNN reported.

The United Airlines Flight 897 had an engine flame-out, soon after it took off at 12:55 PM (1655 GMT), according to the report.

The 747 has four engines, and can fly safely with three, but the decision was made to bring the plane back, rather than send it across the ocean.

The plane dumped fuel before it landed safely at around 2:00 PM (1800 GMT), and the flames were quickly put out.

Fire and rescue units from Fairfax County, Va., where the airport is located, came to the scene to help after the plane landed.

The airport runway was closed to other planes while Flight 897 made its emergency landing. Other planes were held at their gates.

The United Airlines said flight 897 had 330 passengers and 19 crew onboard and there's no report of injuries.

The airline's spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said she could not elaborate on the details of the incident, but said her company will launch an investigation.

Aviation officials said while such incident doesn't occur often, it's not uncommon that a jet will lose an engine in flight.

The United Airlines began running the first nonstop flight between the Chinese and US capitals in March.

(Xinhua News Agency May 26, 2007)