I fought for breath as toxic smoke filled the cabin on Spain flight & fire raged below… I ignored strange warning sign
The pilots were faced with 'the most dangerous situation in aviation'
EXCITED for their summer holiday, Gayle and Steve Fitzpatrick initially ignored the strange smell on flight BA422 to Valencia.
But 184 miles from their destination, at 35,000ft, toxic fumes filled the cabin, leaving passengers fighting for breath.
In the cockpit, the high-tech computer system warned of a potential engine failure and the pilot was trying to establish if the plane was on fire – knowing he would have just eight minutes to get the plane on the ground to save the lives of his 175 passengers.
As the acrid, white smoke filled the plane cabin and passengers began to panic, the captain had to remain calm and rapidly lose height to be able to make its landing.
But with communication between the flight deck and the British Airways‘s plane’s cabin crew cut off, none of the terrified passengers knew what was going on.
In the latest episode of Channel 5’s Terror At 30,000ft, Steve Fitzpatrick says: “I thought the plane had a serious problem. I assumed an engine had blown up and gone on fire and the smoke was coming into the flight. It was very much like a disaster movie.”
Fellow passenger Joanne Waterman recalls: “I worried is this it? Is the plane going to blow up? I also worried that the pilot was able to see anything and you know whether there was a problem in the cockpit. Was the pilot still conscious? Could he breathe?”
It was August 5, 2019, and at the height of the summer holiday rush so Heathrow Airport was packed and planes were queuing to take off.
For the two-hour flight to Valencia, the passengers were travelling on an Airbus A321 with twin international aerospace engines.
As the flight departed Heathrow on schedule for its 830-mile journey, the passengers sat back to relax and enjoy the flight. But for one there was something disconcerting.
Gayle Fitzpatrick recalls: “One of the things I did notice was the smell. It was really strong. It did alarm me a wee bit.
“I’ve never smelled a smell like that before on a plane. It just smelled really, really strange and I thought I hope that’s not a sign, you know, of something to come.”
‘Consumed by panic’
The plane had been in the air for one hour 16 minutes and had reached its cruising altitude of 35,000ft, cruising over the Pyrenees 184 miles from its destination.
All of a sudden there was a loud bang, but not enough to cause huge alarm and the chief flight attendant spotted a light mist in the cabin which quickly disappeared.
But in the fight deck, the pilots already had their hands full. The master caution alarm was going off and the plane’s high-tech computer system was warning them that engine two was in danger of stalling.
A few minutes later they are warned that there is a blockage in the plane’s oil filter which could cause the engine to seize and fail.
Faced with a potential engine failure the pilots had to act fast. Do they stay on course for Valencia or divert to nearer Barcelona?
But while they were troubleshooting the instruments returned virtually to normal so they decided to continue to Valencia with the first officer flying the plane and the captain monitoring the instruments to see what was going on.
The captain informed the oblivious passengers that they would shortly be making their descent into Valencia, the cabin crew did their final checks and started to take their seats for landing.
I remember saying to my husband, ‘I don’t like this, I really don’t like this. What’s going on?’
Joanne Waterman
But then a very strong smell started to circulate through the cabin.
explains: “It was really, really strange and I felt quite disorientated. Then all of a sudden it became apparent that it was almost like a kind of white, acrid smoke.”
Fellow traveller James Fernie adds: “My wife tapped me on the shoulder and I looked at her and I looked about 10ft in front of me to see smoke rising from the floor.
“My initial thought was that something was on fire because there’s no smoke without fire.”
Joanne Waterman, who was travelling to see her mum and sister who live in Spain, says: “I was playing a game on my phone and I looked up and realised I could barely see the seat in front of me.
“And I remember saying to my husband, ‘I don’t like this, I really don’t like this. What’s going on?’
Gayle adds: “In that particular moment you are just consumed by panic. So you are not really thinking logically about what’s happened here. You’re like get me off of here.”
Risky landing
The pilots were now faced with the most dangerous situation in aviation – if there was a fire on board they would have somewhere between eight and 15 minutes to land the plane before it just stopped flying.
They had to don their oxygen masks and follow all the emergency procedures whilst rapidly losing height so they were in the correct position to approach Valencia airport. They needed to get the plane on the ground before the fire spread.
The plane was descending at a rapid pace, and the increasingly panicked passengers could feel the dramatic drop in altitude.
The flight attendants all put on smoke hoods, which seal at the neck to stop them from being overwhelmed by the fumes.
The world's deadliest aircraft incidents
THOSE aboard Boeing BA422 narrowed escaped with their lives - others in the past have not been so lucky. Here we reveal the five deadliest airplane incidents and accidents:
5) The Ermenonville air disaster – 346 deaths
Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crashed into the Ermenonville Forrest, nine miles outside of Paris, when an incorrectly secured cargo door burst open and broke off. It caused such an explosive decompression that cables vital for controlling the aircraft were severed and the plane plummeted. All 346 passengers and 11 crew died on the day of the tragedy – March 3, 1974.
4) Saudi Flight 763 & Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907 – 349 deaths
The world’s deadliest mid-air collision occurred on November 12, 1996 – and killed everyone aboard both planes. It was ruled the Khazak plane’s crew caused the horror crash after failing to maintain the correct altitude. They attributed it to the crew’s poor English language skills, meaning they struggled to understand directions from air traffic control, and three separate failures in cockpit training procedures.
3) Japan Air Lines Flight 123 – 520 deaths
Just 12 minutes into the flight between Tokyo and Osaka, Japan, the Boeing 747SR-46 began to suffer problems. After a further 32 minutes, it crashed into Mount Takamaghara after the flight controls were disabled. The disaster on August 12, 1985, initially had up to 50 survivors but many died while awaiting rescue due to serious injuries. The plane had structural failure caused by a faulty repair seven years earlier, which led to rapid decompression that ripped off part of the tail.
2) The Tenerife airport disaster – 583 deaths
At Tenerife North Airport, a terrifying collision occurred that claimed the lives of passengers on two Boeing 747s on March 27, 1977. KLM Flight 4805 collided with Pan Am Flight 1736 when it began its takeoff run in heavy fog, unaware the other plane was still on the runway. The impact and resulting fire killed everyone aboard the flights apart from 61 survivors.
1) The 9/11 terrorist attack – 2,700 deaths
On Sept 11, 2001, five Al Queda hijackers took over American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175. The planes were then flown into the World Trad Centre, known as the Twin Towers, in New York City. The deaths comprise both those on board the two planes and those on the ground.
But there were no smoke hoods for the passengers and the oxygen masks would only deploy if the plane depressurised.
Gayle says: “I remember saying that my gut is getting into my lungs. It was the strangest thing because it was white it was really quite acrid and it was really catching your throat and a lot of people were really beginning to struggle with it.”
The plane hit the ground hard and finally came to a stop 500m before the terminal.
But the danger was far from over. The pilots declared a mayday bringing fire crews to the runway – they had to put out any possible fire before the terrified passengers could disembark.
An investigation later found that deep inside engine two a bearing in its hydraulic seal had broken causing hot oil to leak into the cabin’s air supply contaminating the air that the passengers and crew were breathing in.
When the smoke entered the flight deck the captain and the co-pilot managed to get the aircraft safely on the ground in under five minutes.
Steve Fitzpatrick says: “I absolutely commend his skill because he did a fantastic job to land the plane safely and we’re forever grateful to him for his work. Incredible pressure he must’ve been under.”
But despite surviving their ordeal, the experience of flight BA422 will stay with the passengers forever.
Joanne Waterman says: “I think if we had had to endure that smoke and those conditions for longer than the few minutes that we had to, potentially there would have been a lot more serious consequences.
“The incident itself and the emergency evacuation definitely had an impact on us. We are part of something that not a lot of people thankfully go through.”
Terror At 30,000ft continues on Friday at 9pm on Channel 5. Stream now on My5.
Flight compensation rules
A look at your rights if a flight is delayed or cancelled, when your entitled to compensation and if your travel insurance can cover the costs.
What are my rights if my flight is cancelled or delayed?
Under UK law, airlines have to provide compensation if your flight arrives at its destination more than three hours late.
If you’re flying to or from the UK, your airline must let you choose a refund or an alternative flight.
You will be able to get your money back for the part of your ticket that you haven’t used yet.
So if you booked a return flight and the outbound leg is cancelled, you can get the full cost of the return ticket refunded.
But if travelling is essential, then your airline has to find you an alternative flight. This could even be with another airline.
When am I not entitled to compensation?
The airline doesn’t have to give you a refund if the flight was cancelled due to reasons beyond their control, such as extreme weather.
Disruptions caused by things like extreme weather, airport or air traffic control employee strikes or other ‘extraordinary circumstances’ are not eligible for compensation.
Some airlines may stretch the definition of “extraordinary circumstances” but you can challenge them through the aviation regulator the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
Will my insurance cover me if my flight is cancelled?
If you can’t claim compensation directly through the airline, your travel insurance may refund you.
Policies vary so you should check the small print, but a delay of eight to 12 hours will normally mean you qualify for some money from your insurer.
Remember to get written confirmation of your delay from the airport as your insurer will need proof.
If your flight is cancelled entirely, you’re unlikely to be covered by your insurance.