A British Airways flight to Chicago dropped around 27,000 feet in a matter of minutes on Monday and was forced to return to London.
According to CBS News, the Boeing 777-200ER descended from 36,000 feet to 9,000 feet in about 10 minutes while over Ireland. The airline said the flight encountered a “technical issue,” and had to turn around.
“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,” British Airways said. “Customers disembarked the aircraft normally and our teams are working to get their travel plans back on track as quickly as possible.”
No injuries to passengers or crew were reported.
Some of the passengers told The Guardian that the flight encountered turbulence, and oxygen masks were deployed. The descent, while noticeable, was not uncomfortable, they said.
The pilots declared an emergency once the 777 was under 10,000 feet and turned back to London Heathrow. Tracking website FlightAware shows the aircraft flew in loops over the Bristol Channel and southwest England, likely to burn off fuel and reduce its weight, before landing in London after about five hours in the air.
Many of the passengers were rebooked on new flights departing Tuesday, The Guardian said.
