A British Airways flight that took off from London Heathrow yesterday afternoon had to sound its emergency alarm after rapidly plunging 28,000 feet in a matter of mere minutes. Flight BA295 was heading to Chicago O’Hare International Airport – but around 1 hour into what was supposed to be an 8 hour 40 minute flight, it was forced to sound a emergency 7700 squawk to air traffic control (the signal for a general emergency).
The transatlantic flight had left Heathrow’s runway at 12.14pm but dropped rather drastically from 37,000 feet to just 9,000 feet around an hour later. Oxygen masks were reportedly released from the ceiling of the plane following sudden turbulence. And after a u-turn above Ireland and a holding pattern over the Bristol Channel, the aircraft landed safely back at London Heathrow at 5.03pm. The flight was then cancelled and passengers were able to rebook for another day.
According to AirLive, a swift descent to low altitudes often suggests a a cabin depressurisation event, but British Airways is yet to confirm the official cause of the emergency.
A spokesperson for British Airways said: “The safety of our customers and crew is always out 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.”
