In the United Kingdom, a British Airways aircraft operating flight BA295 from London Heathrow Airport to Chicago declared an emergency after a sharp descent of 28,000 feet over Ireland and returned to Heathrow. The Boeing 777-200ER landed safely following a technical problem, The Guardian reports.
The aircraft departed Heathrow at 12:14 on Monday and reached a cruising altitude of 37,000 feet about an hour later. According to passengers, the aircraft encountered turbulence before oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling.
The pilots descended the aircraft below 10,000 feet, transmitted code 7700 to air traffic controllers — the international signal for a general emergency — and turned back toward England. Passenger Tom Nicholls said the descent to 9,000 feet did not feel particularly sharp. According to him, there was uncertainty among passengers after the masks appeared, but the captain later said they were no longer needed because the aircraft was below 10,000 feet.
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According to flight-tracking services, the aircraft flew holding patterns over the Bristol Channel between Pembrokeshire and North Devon, burning fuel to reduce its weight before landing. The aircraft landed at Heathrow shortly after 17:00.
British Airways said that the safety of passengers and crew is the company’s priority, and that the pilots returned to Heathrow due to a technical problem. Passengers disembarked from the aircraft in the usual manner. Many of them were booked onto other flights scheduled for Tuesday.
British Airways has not yet confirmed the official cause of the emergency. A rapid descent below 10,000 feet and the transmission of code 7700 are usually associated with a possible loss of cabin pressurization.
Source: UA
