A British Airways flight bound for Chicago was forced to return to London's Heathrow Airport shortly after takeoff on Tuesday due to an unspecified technical issue. Flight BA295, a Boeing 777, departed at 12:15 p.m. but experienced a rapid descent of approximately 28,000 feet in seven minutes over Ireland.
Following the steep drop, oxygen masks were deployed for passengers and crew. Pilots declared an emergency and subsequently spent four hours circling the coast of Wales to burn off enough fuel to safely land back at Heathrow.
According to a statement attributed to British Airways, the aircraft landed safely and passengers disembarked normally. The airline stated that its teams are working to assist passengers with their travel plans.
This incident occurred less than a month after widespread flight cancellations impacted the United Kingdom due to technical problems with the UK's air traffic control system.