British Airways flight forced to make emergency landing just minutes after leaving Heathrow
Pilot declares mid-air emergency due to a 'technical issue', before requesting a priority landing & turning plane around
A BRITISH Airways flight declared an emergency minutes after taking off from Heathrow today.
Flight 1340 was bound for Leeds at 8.23am, but was forced to turn around and head back to Heathrow shortly afterwards.
According to reports, the captain requested a priority landing, citing a “technical issue”.
Pilots on board sent out a “squawk 7700” to signal a general emergency, alerting Air Traffic Control that the aircraft needed to return to London.
The pilots proceeded to move the plane into a holding pattern as they circled above Chesham, Buckinghamshire, before flying back to Heathrow.
The Airbus A319, which has the capacity to transport 156 passengers, made a safe landing at Heathrow at approximately 8.55am — just 30 minutes after it took off.
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Though a number of aviation accounts on social media have been quick to speculate the aircraft was hit by “gear issues”, British Airways are yet to confirm this.
Speaking to , a spokesperson explained: “The aircraft has now landed safely at Heathrow after the pilot requested a priority landing for a minor technical issue.”
The number of passengers on board the Airbus at the time of the incident is yet to be reported.
In instances where an emergency diversion is required for an aircraft, pilots are taught to reduce the weight in an effort to make a safe landing.
To do this, they burn off fuel by circling. If the emergency is more pressing, pilots have the option of releasing fuel into the air, typically over bodies of water.
Planes have two predominant variations of weight limits: the maximum takeoff weight and the maximum structural landing weight. The maximum structural weight is nearly always the lower of the two.
Shedding this weight allows planes on routine flights to arrive at their destinations at a lower weight.
Pilots co-ordinate fuel dumping with Air Traffic Control so precautions can be made to keep other planes at a safe distance.
The act tends to be carried out at a high enough altitude where the fuel will dissipate before it reaches the ground.
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