A British Airflight that was travelling to Chicago from London descended to 9,000 feet on Monday, declaring an emergency over Ireland. The flight, which was at 37,000 feet, had reportedly made a sudden descent of roughly 28,000 feet after which it was diverted back to London.
The British Airways Flight BA295 was operating from London Heathrow to Chicago O’Hare, but it squawked 7700, according to live flight tracker Flightradar24. It is not clear what forced the aircraft to make the significant descent and authorities are yet to issue a statement.
The flight, a Boeing 777-200ER that was registered as G-VIIA, had left for its destination at 11.50 am local time and was expected to reach to Chicago within 8.40 hours. However, approximately an hour into its journay, the flight was diverted back to London.
What is emergency squawking 7700 code?
A squawk is a four-digit identification code transmitted by an aircraft’s transponder to air traffic controllers. When an aircraft sends the 7700 code, it is considered general emergency, but the exact problem is not described.
More to follow…
