British Airways Boeing 777 makes emergency U-turn over Ireland and returns to UK

British Airways Flight BA295, a Boeing 777-200ER, departed London Heathrow Terminal 5 at 11:50 am on a scheduled eight-hour-forty-minute service to Chicago O'Hare. Approximately one hour into the journey, the plane reached its cruising altitude of 37,000 feet before experiencing a sudden, steep descent to about 9,000 feet while over Ireland. The pilots declared an emergency and began communicating with air traffic controllers.

The aircraft then performed a U-turn over central Ireland and continued flying straight ahead as it was redirected back toward the United Kingdom. The specific cause of the emergency has not been disclosed. Flight-tracking services recorded the rapid altitude loss and the subsequent change in course.