British Airways Flight drops 28,000ft and declares Emergency

A BA flight declared an emergency after suddenly dropping 28,000ft in minutes while flying over Ireland, according to flight data. The Chicago-bound flight had taken off from London Heathrow Airport at 11.50 am on Monday.

But just half an hour into its journey, passengers on flight BA295 experienced a dramatic drop from 36,000 feet to around 9,000 feet – in just seven minutes.

Crew on the jet declared an emergency. They transmitted a 7700 squawk – a code that tells air traffic control that a flight is experiencing an emergency.

It reportedly continued flying after the steep drop while the crew communicated with air traffic control and assessed their options. FlightAware data shows the plane was forced to turn back over Ireland. It spent four hours zig-zagging across the coast before it could land in London. BA said the plane had experienced a “technical issue” forcing it to return to the UK. It eventually landed back at Heathrow just after 5 pm after agonizing hours spent flying back and forth across the Bristol Channel.

A BA spokesperson said: “The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority, and the aircraft landed safely after our highly trained pilots returned to Heathrow following a technical issue. “Customers disembarked the aircraft normally, and our teams are working to get their travel plans back on track as quickly as possible.” The company did not explain the reason for the emergency.