Major airline under investigation over 'near-miss' incident above city boasting nine million people
An aircraft of a major airline has narrowly avoided disaster following a human error earlier this month, resulting in a near-miss incident right above London as the Airbus A320 approached Heathrow Airport.
According to a statement from France's accident investigation authority, the BA919 flight from Dusseldorf, Germany, on 6 July issued a “mayday” distress call as it flew over Canary Wharf on its approach to the airport located in West London.
The call followed two stall warnings of the British Airways aircraft, though the Airbus landed without further incidents, the BBC reported yesterday.
It appears that one of the aircraft’s air data systems had allegedly failed, which triggered a stall warning.
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The jet suffered a stall and the captain had to step in to override the first officer’s initial input to try and remedy the problem, narrowly avoiding a “hull loss’, which is the aviation term for when an aircraft is destroyed or seriously damaged.
The crew then flew the aircraft in “alternate law”, a mode which removes some automated flight protection systems. Another stall warning then occurred at 3,000 feet, with experts noting that this would have likely been just miles away from Heathrow.
The urgency call the crew had already made was then upgraded to mayday, indicating imminent danger.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has launched a probe into the ‘serious incident’.
UNILAD Tech has reached out to British Airways for comment.
Meanwhile, earlier this month another flight suffered a terrifying near-tragedy when a passenger was almost sucked out of the cabin due to a pressure change. A broken window lead to a sudden loss of pressure which almost pulled Ljubisa Karović, a passenger travelling with his wife Svetlana Grković on a Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen, Germany, out of the airplane.
Luckily, Karović had secured his seatbelt, with Grković managing to hold his legs with the aid of other passengers. He was rushed to the hospital upon landing, where he’s recovering from shock and minor injuries sustained during the terrifying ordeal.
An investigation into the incident was opened, as a technical advisor appointed by the family suggests that a failure in the plane's right engine caused debris to shatter the cabin window, leading to the accident. That is yet to be confirmed by official investigators.
“During the flight, one window in the passenger cabin was detached,” a spokesperson for Ryanair commented on the incident.
“The plane landed safely, and the passengers were returned to the terminal. One passenger requested and received medical assistance. In order to minimize the delay, a second plane was provided to transport the passengers to Memmingen."