Summary
- British Airways pilots from Newcastle to London Heathrow on a domestic flight encountered a foul odor within the cockpit and needed to wear oxygen masks.
- The flight was delayed, and the pilots experienced smoke inhalation, requiring medical assessment and hospital treatment.
- The Airbus A320 remained grounded for maintenance before resuming scheduled service.
A fast domestic hop for British Airways pilots changed into a visit to the hospital after noticing a foul odor onboard. On October nineteenth, the service operated as BA1321 between Newcastle and London Heathrow. The Airbus A320 was en route at an altitude of 27,000ft when the crew reported feeling unwell. They donned oxygen masks and contacted ground control at LHR, ensuring that the flight could land safely with what gave the impression to be a full flight.
Photo: Airbus
BA1321
The flight was expected to depart from the North East at 06:00. Nevertheless, it only left Newcastle International Airport at 07:54. While at its cruising altitude of 27,000 ft, the stench appeared, and This blew the scheduled arrival outing of the water, 07:20, with the aircraft touching down safely on London Heathrow runway 27L at 09:06. The aircraft commenced it’s decent towards London while passing over Birmingham, and was put right into a holding pattern east of Watford, before looping across the English capital in a clockwise position before landing into the UK’s busiest airport.
Once the aircraft was safely at Heathrow Terminal 5, the 2 pilots were assessed on the airport’s medical facility and, after being deemed they were affected by smoke inhalation, were sent to an area hospital for further checks via ambulance.
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock.
Newcastle International Airport (NCL)
The flight began in England’s North East, home to Newcastle International Airport, the airport relies in Woolsington, and serves the North East of England, Cumbria, plus across the Scottish Borders. It’s a hub for regional carrier Loganair and sees frequent service from Jet2, Ryanair, easyJet, and charter airline TUI.
Photo: John J Brown | Shutterstock
Emirates provides the one long-haul service, connecting Dubai and Newcastle day by day with the Boeing 777 or other carriers that can provide onward long-haul connections, include KLM to Amsterdam, Air France to Paris Charles de Gaulle, Lufthansa to Frankfurt, and Aer Lingus to Dublin.
Sources: AvHerald, Flightradar24