BA Flight Turns Back After 28,000-Foot Drop Over Ireland

At 37,000 feet over Ireland, a British Airways jet began a rapid descent, dropping to about 9,000 feet within minutes. The Chicago-bound plane then turned back toward London, ending its trip across the Atlantic. Flight-tracking data showed the sharp change in height and route, but could not explain what was happening inside the aircraft. ^3,18

The aircraft was BA295, a Boeing 777-200ER that left London Heathrow for Chicago O’Hare at about 11:50 a.m. local time on Monday. Roughly an hour into the flight, its crew sent the 7700 emergency signal. It tells air traffic controllers there is a general emergency but not what kind. The jet returned to Heathrow and landed 4 hours and 47 minutes after takeoff. ^5,18

The 7700 signal did not point to a specific failure. British Airways said the pilots returned to Heathrow because of a technical problem, and that the plane landed safely and passengers got off normally. Early reports gave no confirmed cause, and ideas such as a cabin pressure problem were not confirmed. No injuries were reported in the first accounts.^3,7,14 The abrupt return disrupted passengers’ plans, and the airline said staff were working to arrange their onward travel. ⁷

Those passengers left the aircraft at Heathrow, while BA said it was working to get their journeys back on track. The return also shows why a sharp descent and an emergency signal, alarming as they look on a flight map, do not by themselves reveal a plane’s condition. They do not reveal the cause of a problem. British Airways identified a technical problem but gave no further details in the available report. The next clear step is for the airline to help affected travelers continue their trips; reports had not yet revealed the specific fault. ^7,14