A British Airways flight from Dusseldorf to Heathrow suffered a stall at 4,000ft above Canary Wharf after a first officer's input led to a loss of control, requiring the captain to physically intervene, a source said.
Near Miss Over Canary Wharf
The incident occurred on Monday, July 6, as Flight BA919 approached Heathrow. The Airbus A320 was at around 4,000ft when it stalled. The captain overrode the first officer's initial input to recover the aircraft. A source described the event as "the most serious 'near miss' in the UK in years."
One of the plane's air data systems failed, leading to the stall. The source noted: "To recover from this position is difficult, especially so low to the ground. It is unheard of for a captain to physically intervene in the cockpit."
Investigation Ongoing
It is believed the incident almost led to a "hull loss" – an accident where an aircraft is destroyed or damaged beyond repair. The captain has been grounded on "stress leave" while the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) examines the circumstances. The AAIB has listed the incident as "Loss of Control In-flight" and "Pilot Induced."
A British Airways spokesperson said: "We're assisting the AAIB with its investigation and are legally unable to comment further at this stage."
The last British Airways crash occurred on January 17, 2008, when a flight from Beijing landed short of runway 27L at Heathrow, injuring one passenger seriously.
