A British Airways flight from London declared an emergency on Monday after a “technical issue” caused it to plunge 28,000 feet. The flight, which had left London Heathrow for Chicago’s O’Hare airport, was forced to return to the UK, with oxygen masks deployed from the ceiling.
Rapid descent over Ireland
The Boeing 777-200ER was less than an hour into the journey and at its cruising altitude of 37,000 feet when it began to descend while flying over Ireland, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware. The plane encountered turbulence, with the pilots rapidly descending to below 10,000 feet and issuing a 7700 emergency squawk to air traffic control.
Flight-tracking data shows the plane making a U-turn to head back towards the UK, with the aircraft flying in a looping holding pattern over the Bristol Channel between Pembrokeshire and North Devon for around four hours to burn off fuel in order to lower its weight. The plane then returned to London, making a normal landing at Heathrow at just after 5pm.
Passenger account
Passenger Tom Nicholls told The Guardian that there was a “sudden bit of turbulence” before the emergency was declared. He said: “The oxygen masks popped out soon after and there was a bit of uncertainty onboard. The couple in front couldn’t get to theirs but by the time they’d found a spare seat with a mask, the captain announced we were below 10,000ft so they were not needed.”
A BA spokesperson said: “The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority, and the aircraft landed safely after our highly trained pilots returned to Heathrow following a technical issue. Customers disembarked the aircraft normally and our teams are working to get their travel plans back on track as quickly as possible.”
Aftermath and context
Pictures shared on social media showed oxygen masks dangling from the ceiling as the plane made the return journey. Many passengers have been booked on to new flights departing on Tuesday, having been provided with hotel rooms by the airline on Monday. The official cause of the emergency has yet to be confirmed by BA.
The incident comes weeks after the National Air Traffic Service (NATS) came under intense scrutiny, with two technical problems in the space of two weeks causing major delays at several UK airports. Hundreds of flights were cancelled, with NATS blaming software issues for the delays.
