A British Airways flight bound for Chicago plunged 28,000 feet in just seven minutes before spending four hours zig-zagging back to Heathrow following a technical fault.
Emergency declared over Ireland
Flight BA295 departed London Heathrow at 11.50am on Monday, heading out towards the Atlantic Ocean. Barely 30 minutes into the transatlantic journey, the airliner declared an emergency high above Ireland.
The passenger jet issued an urgent distress call before rapidly dropping from a cruising altitude of 36,000 feet down to roughly 9,000 feet. Pilots were forced to abort the crossing and turn back toward mainland Britain, leaving travellers stranded on an agonising four-hour "flight to nowhere."
Zig-zag path back to Heathrow
Flight tracking data showed the aircraft zig-zagging back and forth across the coast and looping over the Bristol Channel to burn off fuel before making a safe emergency landing back at Heathrow shortly after 5pm.
British Airways attributed the dramatic mid-air incident to an unexpected technical failure onboard.
Airline statement
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."
