British Airways flight BA295 from London Heathrow to Chicago O'Hare International Airport declared a mid-air emergency and dropped 28,000 feet over Ireland before returning to Heathrow. The Boeing 777-200ER, registered as G-VIIA, landed safely at Heathrow at around 5pm after the crew reported a technical issue.
Emergency descent over Ireland
The aircraft departed Heathrow's Terminal 5 at 11.50am with a scheduled flight time of eight hours and 40 minutes to Chicago. About an hour into the journey, after climbing to a cruising altitude of 37,000 feet, the crew issued a squawk 7700 code - the international aviation signal for a general emergency - and began a rapid descent.
Flight-tracking data from Flightradar24 shows the plane dropped to around 9,000 feet within minutes while over Ireland. The aircraft then made a U-turn and headed back towards the UK, circling over the Bristol Channel to burn fuel before landing.
Technical issue confirmed
British Airways issued a statement to the Mirror confirming the diversion. A 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," the spokesperson added.
Possible depressurisation
Images purportedly taken inside the aircraft appear to show oxygen masks deployed and being worn by passengers. A controlled rapid descent to below 10,000 feet often indicates a cabin depressurisation event, according to AirLive.net.
The aircraft, delivered to British Airways in July 1997, is the oldest in the airline's fleet and the first 777-200ER to roll off the production line, according to simpleflying.com. While circling over the Bristol Channel, the plane burned around 30 tonnes of fuel to reduce its weight to a safe landing level. The flight became the most tracked worldwide on Flightradar24, with more than 26,000 people following its progress, before landing safely at Heathrow.
