- Flight BA295 rapidly descended 28,000 feet over Ireland.
- Crew declared emergency; aircraft returned to London Heathrow.
- No injuries reported; incident reason remains unconfirmed.
A British Airways flight bound for Chicago has turned back to London Heathrow after making a sudden 28,000-foot descent over Ireland and declaring an emergency mid-flight. Flight BA295, travelling from London Heathrow to Chicago O’Hare, was about an hour into its journey when the aircraft rapidly descended from its cruising altitude of 37,000 feet to 9,000 feet. The crew then squawked 7700, the international aviation code for a general emergency. The aircraft subsequently made a U-turn over Ireland and began its return to London, according to flight-tracking data.
28,000-Foot Descent
According to aviation news network AIRLIVE, BA295 departed Heathrow Terminal 5 at 11:50am local time for its scheduled eight-hour, 40-minute journey to Chicago.
The aircraft, a 30-year-old Boeing 777-200ER registered as G-VIIA, had reached a cruising altitude of 37,000 feet when it encountered an unexpected operational issue over Irish airspace.
Flight-tracking data showed the aircraft rapidly descended by around 28,000 feet, reaching an altitude of 9,000 feet within minutes.
The steep descent was followed by the crew issuing a squawk 7700 alert, signalling a general emergency.
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Flight Turns Back
After the emergency declaration, the aircraft made a U-turn over Ireland and stabilised at around 9,000 feet as it headed back towards London Heathrow.
Flightradar24 also confirmed the incident on X, posting that BA295 was “squawking 7700” and had descended to 9,000 feet over Ireland.
No injuries have been reported among passengers or crew so far. AIRLIVE reported that emergency response teams at potential diversion airports were placed on standby as a precaution while the aircraft returned to London.
The exact reason for the emergency declaration and the sudden descent has not yet been confirmed. British Airways and relevant authorities are yet to provide further details on the incident.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: abplive.com
