British Airways flight from London to Oslo makes emergency landing after smoke billows into cockpit
A British Airways flight from London to Oslo was forced to make an emergency landing after smoke began billowing into the cockpit.
Footage published by The Sun showed fire engines and emergency vehicles rushing to the jet after it landed in Amsterdam on Wednesday evening.
Passengers on Flight BA764 were told that the aircraft would touch down immediately over safety fears, the newspaper reported.
The incident unfolded just 90 minutes after the flight left Terminal 5 at Heathrow at 5.09pm on Wednesday.
Air traffic controllers at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport were forced to clear the schedule to accommodate the emergency landing, disrupting the flights timetable.
The BA carrier touched down at 7.38pm and temporarily blocked the taxiway, causing further delays.
A source told The Sun: “Smoke in the cockpit is never a good thing and at 30,000ft it's alarming to say the least.
“The BA crew were 100 per cent professional and kept their cool throughout. They followed procedure and took the emergency action necessary to divert the jet as quickly as possible.
“It was a rough ride for the passengers but they were in safe hands.
“Landing the jet at a remote part of the airfield in Amsterdam shows how serious the situation was. The emergency services were taking no chances and wanted the smoking jet as far from the terminal building as possible.”
A BA spokesperson said: “This aircraft was diverted into Amsterdam Schiphol Airport as a precaution following a minor technical issue onboard.
“We've apologised to our customers for the disruption to their travel plans and we'll get them on their way as soon as possible.”
In January, a BA flight from Heathrow to Prague was forced to make an emergency landing back in the UK after fumes were reportedly observed in the cockpit.
The flight had to reverse course while over Dover, just half an hour into its journey, and it landed back at Heathrow at 8.41am.