A British Airways flight bound for Doha has reportedly turned around only minutes after takeoff when crew noticed smoke in the cabin. BA123, operated by one of the airlines, Boeing 777-200, had only got to 5,000 feet when the decision was made to turn back.
On November 24th, BA123 departed London Heathrow International Airport bound for the Middle East from runway 27R; around seven minutes after takeoff, the crew decided to return to the BA base, turning above Oxshott, passing over Croydon, before turning for its approach above Ebbsfleet.
The aircraft landed safely at the United Kingdom’s busiest airport, landing on 27L 20 minutes after initial departure. Once back on firm soil, the aircraft taxied off the runway and was checked over by my maintenance staff while passengers and crew were reacommodated onto another flight.
British Airways had planned to operate its daily service between London Heathrow International Airport (LHR) and Doha Hamad International Airport (DOH), served by the its Boeing 777-200ER fleet. The flight, BA123, had a scheduled departure time from LHR at 14:05; however, it only departed from the English airport at 15:13, 1hr 8 minutes behind schedule.
Passengers onboard had expected to travel south-east for the usual six-hour flight to Qatar, with a scheduled arrival time of 00:15. With smoke reported in the cabin, the crew swiftly decided to return to LHR for further inspection and touched down back at Heathrow around 15:33. Upon arrival the aircraft was met by emergency services, who wasted no time in investigating the incident.
The aircraft at the center of the drama is a 23-year-old Boeing 777-200ER, holding registration G-YMMI, serial number 30310. The aircraft had its first test flight in October 2000 and was delivered to the world carrier in November. Passengers onboard the flight have three cabins to pick from 48 business class seats, 40 for premium economy, and 184 for economy class travelers.
Travelers affected were re-accommodated onto a replacement aircraft bearing the same flight number, BA123. The flight was expected to depart London at 20:15 but eventually took off at 21:34; this meant an overnight and early morning arrival into Doha, with the aircraft touching down at 06:19, one hour behind the replacement flight schedule of 05:19. This represented an overall delay for passengers of around six hours in total. British Airways replacement service was operated by G-YMMO, serial number 30317, a 22-year-old 777-200ER.
According to data from Flightradar24, the aircraft that experienced the technical problems has remained on the apron at Heathrow since the dilemma; however, it is expected to return to regular scheduling soon.
Sources: Aviation Herald, Flightradar24