Pilots ‘almost pass out’ after taking off
January 9th, 2012 - 10:02 pm ICT by Aishwarya BhattLondon, Jan 9 (THAINDIAN NEWS) A looming disaster was averted when a passenger British Airways flight returned to Heathrow just minutes after taking off. The two female pilots at the back of the controls reported feeling light-headed shortly after the plane took to the air.
The plane was 20,000 feet in the head already when the pilots started calling for help in the cabin. Passengers reported seeing stewards rushing into the cabin. This sparked some level of panic in the plane as passengers wondered what was going on.
The Glasgow-bound flight made a sharp turn to the Heathrow airport with some passengers claiming that technical fault was the initial reason that stewards gave.
A passenger on the Airbus A321 told reporters that, “I know we flew back much faster than we had set off because we began descending sharply almost straight away.”
Two ambulances and 10 fire engines were on the tarmac when the plane touched down.
BA issued a statement confirming the incident. The company said as part of the standard procedure, the pilots were given oxygen masks.
A spokesperson said that, “The pilots reported feeling light-headed so, as a precaution and following normal procedure, put on their oxygen masks.”
The passengers were moved to another flight on the same day.
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Tags: airbus a321, ambulances, british airways, british airways flight, cabin passengers, female pilots, fire engines, glasgow, heathrow airport, initial reason, london jan, looming disaster, oxygen, precaution, sharp turn, spokesperson, stewards, tarmac, technical fault