A British Airways flight aborted its landing at Heathrow Airport earlier this month after experiencing system failures that triggered multiple stall warnings, leading the crew to declare a mayday. The incident is currently under investigation by the UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).
The flight, an Airbus A320 traveling from Dusseldorf, Germany, on July 6, was approaching Heathrow when a data system failure caused a stall warning. The crew switched to an "alternate law" flight mode, which disables some automated safety systems. A second stall warning occurred at 3,000 feet, prompting the crew to upgrade their urgency call to mayday, indicating imminent danger.
Passenger Edward Killiwick described a significant increase in fear within the cabin after the aborted landing. He reported a "very violent maneuver" that made him believe a crash was possible. Killiwick and his partner had to comfort another passenger who began screaming, "I don't want to die."
"It was a bit odd going around in a holding pattern with no information. I thought if they're not talking, then they're not in a good place," Killiwick said, recalling the approximately 15 minutes the aircraft spent in the holding pattern. He added, "I was definitely scared. After the violent maneuver I thought, there is definitely something very badly wrong here. I did think we could crash. I did think it was a possibility, and I think everyone else did."
Despite the mayday declaration, the flight ultimately landed safely at Heathrow. A British Airways spokesperson stated that the airline is cooperating with the AAIB investigation and cannot comment further at this time. France's accident investigation authority, the BEA, confirmed the mayday call and the sequence of events involving the system failure and stall warnings.