London-Chicago BA flight declares emergency after 28,000ft fall | British Airways

A flight from London to Chicago declared a state of emergency after a sudden and steep descent from 28,000 feet over Ireland and was forced to turn back to Britain.

British Airways flight BA295 was bound for Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, but after a “technical glitch” in which oxygen masks were deployed from the ceiling, the plane landed safely at London Heathrow.

The plane, a Boeing 777-200ER, had left Heathrow at 12:14 p.m. on Monday for its scheduled transatlantic flight, and an hour into the journey had reached its cruising altitude of 37,000 feet.

According to passengers, the plane then encountered turbulence moments before the masks came off, causing “uncertainty” among those on board.

The pilots descended below 10,000 feet and issued an emergency signal of 7700 to air traffic control – the general international emergency code – and turned around to return to England.

Flight tracking services showed the plane flying a looping holding pattern over the Bristol Channel between Pembrokeshire and north Devon as the plane burned fuel to reduce its weight, allowing the pilots to make a normal landing just after 5 p.m.

Passenger Tom Nicholls said there had been “a bit of sudden turbulence” before the emergency was declared and the rapid descent to 9,000 feet had not been too uncomfortable.

He said: “The plane adjusted but it didn’t feel like it was descending quickly. I would say the pilots did a very good job.

“The oxygen masks came out shortly after and there was a bit of uncertainty on board. The couple in front couldn’t get to theirs, but by the time they found an empty seat with a mask, the captain announced that we were below 10,000 feet, so they weren’t needed.”

A BA spokesperson said: “The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority, and the aircraft landed safely after our highly skilled pilots returned to Heathrow following a technical problem.

“Customers have disembarked as normal and our teams are working to get their travel plans back on track as quickly as possible.”

Photographs taken by passengers and shared on social media showed oxygen masks hanging from the ceiling as the plane made the return journey.

A rapid descent below 10,000 feet and an emergency signal of 7,700 are regularly associated with aircraft cabin depressurization, but the official cause of the emergency has not yet been confirmed by BA.

The Boeing 777-200ER is one of BA’s oldest aircraft in service, having been delivered to the carrier almost 30 years ago, in July 1997. Live broadcasts showed the aircraft making its safe descent and landing at Heathrow.

Many passengers were booked on new flights departing Tuesday.