A passenger aboard a British Airways flight from London to Chicago has described the cabin as 'silent' as the aircraft dropped 27,000ft in minutes. The plane declared an emergency due to a technical issue and returned to London on October 5.
Passenger recalls 'silence' during descent
Scott Tanner, 39, from Torbay, Devon, was on the plane when it began descending 'noticeably' and passengers were instructed to put on oxygen masks. Flight BA295 had reached a cruising altitude of 37,000ft before the mid-air emergency. Flight tracking data showed the aircraft dropped sharply to 9,000ft.
Scott said there was 'silence' for ten minutes before passengers were told they could remove their masks. The flight returned to London after five hours in the air.
No information from flight deck
Scott said: 'About an hour into the flight I was listening to an audiobook when, completely without warning, the oxygen masks suddenly dropped throughout the cabin. An automated announcement instructed everyone to put on their masks immediately. For around 10 minutes afterwards, there was no further information from the flight deck.'
'There was simply silence apart from the automated announcement repeating on a loop, which was probably the most disconcerting part. Despite this, everyone remained remarkably calm. I did not hear a single scream.'
Return to Heathrow
'We could feel the aircraft descending quite noticeably, although it felt controlled rather than like a plunge,' he added. 'The captain then told us that we were below 10,000 feet and could remove our masks. He later explained that we would be returning to Heathrow, but because the aircraft was carrying fuel for the transatlantic journey we would need to circle for several hours to burn it off. We eventually landed safely after about five hours in the air.'
Scott says British Airways provided passengers with hotel accommodation, but further arrangements were 'frustrating'. He said: 'I was initially rebooked via Charlotte despite direct flights being available, and I had to negotiate to have this changed. When I asked whether BA might offer some gesture in recognition of what had happened, I was repeatedly sent between different desks and eventually told that any compensation would have to be dealt with online.'
British Airways response
A spokesperson from British Airways 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.'
