British Airways jet bound for Chicago descends 27,000 feet, returns to Heathrow
In short
A British Airways Boeing 777 flying from London Heathrow to Chicago descended to about 9,000 feet shortly after takeoff on Monday and returned to Heathrow, where it landed safely, the airline said. Flight data showed the plane turned back over Ireland and circled for hours before landing at about 5 p.m. local time. The airline cited an unspecified technical issue, and outlets gave differing figures for the descent.
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A British Airways Boeing 777 flying from London Heathrow to Chicago descended to roughly 9,000 feet shortly after departure on Monday and returned to Heathrow, where it landed safely, according to the airline and flight-tracking data. British Airways said the aircraft had a “technical issue,” without specifying it. The accounts of the descent differ: NBC News reported the jet descended 28,000 feet in seven minutes, while CBS News and Fox News reported a drop of about 27,000 feet over roughly 10 minutes. CBS News said the aircraft went from 36,000 feet to 9,000 feet, and Fox News also put the lower altitude at about 9,000 feet. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
NBC News said the plane took off at 12:15 p.m. local time (7:15 a.m. ET) and began descending about 30 minutes later while over Ireland, citing the tracking site FlightAware. It turned around and spent about four hours over the Bristol Channel, a waterway west of England, before landing at Heathrow at 5 p.m. local time (noon ET), NBC News reported. CBS News said the descent appeared controlled and the plane circled for a few hours, apparently to burn off fuel, and Fox News said it circled over England before returning to Heathrow. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
“The aircraft landed safely after our highly-trained pilots returned to Heathrow following a technical issue,” British Airways said in a statement. “Customers disembarked the aircraft normally and our teams are working to get their travel plans back on track as quickly as possible.” NBC News said Heathrow did not immediately respond to a request for comment and reported that passengers will likely be put up in hotels until another flight can be arranged, as stipulated by the UK Civil Aviation Authority. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Fox News Digital quoted Matthew “Whiz” Buckley, a retired US Navy F/A-18 pilot, as saying the flight pattern appeared consistent with an emergency descent that could follow a pressurization problem, and that descending below 10,000 feet would remove the need for supplemental oxygen if cabin pressure had been lost. The airline did not identify the cause of the technical issue. [ 3 ]
NBC News placed the incident against recent disruption in Britain: it said the National Air Traffic Service came under scrutiny last month after two technical problems in two weeks caused major delays at several UK airports and the cancellation of hundreds of flights, which NATS blamed on software issues, with Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander calling the situation “deeply frustrating” for passengers. NBC News also noted Heathrow handled 84.5 million passengers last year, ranking seventh among the world's busiest airports according to Airports Council International data, and that travel from Heathrow was severely disrupted in March last year when a fire at an electricity substation caused a predawn power outage, affecting more than 1,300 flights and 200,000 passengers. [ 1 ]
Why it matters
The flight was bound for Chicago, so the incident involves a US-bound route and adds to attention on Boeing 777 operations and on the reliability of UK air traffic services. NBC News reported that Britain's National Air Traffic Service was already under scrutiny after technical problems caused widespread delays. The documents report no injuries and give no confirmed cause, so any regulatory consequences remain unclear.
Key facts
- A British Airways Boeing 777 flying from London Heathrow to Chicago descended to about 9,000 feet shortly after takeoff and returned to Heathrow. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- British Airways said the aircraft landed safely after a “technical issue” and that customers disembarked normally. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Flight-tracking data showed the plane began descending about 30 minutes after departure, over Ireland, and turned back toward London. [ 1 , 2 ]
- NBC News reported a descent of 28,000 feet in seven minutes; CBS News and Fox News reported about 27,000 feet in roughly 10 minutes. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The aircraft took off at 12:15 p.m. local time and landed back at Heathrow at about 5 p.m. local time (noon ET), according to NBC News. [ 1 ]
- CBS News reported the descent appeared controlled and that the plane circled for a few hours, apparently to burn off fuel. [ 2 ]
- A retired US Navy pilot told Fox News Digital the flight pattern appeared consistent with an emergency descent that could follow a pressurization problem; the airline did not specify a cause. [ 3 ]
- NBC News reported passengers will likely be put up in hotels until another flight can be arranged, as stipulated by the UK Civil Aviation Authority. [ 1 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- A British Airways Boeing 777 on a London Heathrow–Chicago flight returned to Heathrow and landed safely after what the airline called a technical issue. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- British Airways said customers disembarked normally and its teams were working to get their travel plans back on track. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The aircraft descended to about 9,000 feet and circled before landing back at Heathrow. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- The exact scale and duration of the descent NBC News reported 28,000 feet in seven minutes, while CBS News and Fox News reported about 27,000 feet in roughly 10 minutes.
- The cause of the technical issue The airline said only that there was a technical issue and did not identify it; Fox News Digital's pressurization explanation came from an aviation expert, not the airline.
- Whether passengers were given hotel accommodation NBC News reported they will likely be put up in hotels under UK Civil Aviation Authority rules, but no confirmation from the airline is given.
- Whether Heathrow commented on the incident NBC News said Heathrow did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- The British Airways Boeing 777 takes off from London Heathrow bound for Chicago, according to NBC News. [ 1 ]
- About 30 minutes after departure, the aircraft begins descending while over Ireland, flight-tracking data shows. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The plane lands back at London Heathrow (noon ET) after circling for several hours, NBC News reports. [ 1 , 2 ]