Three British Airways pilots were struck down by food poisoning at 30,000ft on Wednesday, in a near-mirror of the plot of the comedy film Airplane, as the airline dealt with a separate emergency landing at Heathrow.
The first pilot became incapacitated and had to be put on oxygen, while the other two managed to work but their symptoms worsened. Despite fears no one would be able to fly the plane, BA said the safety of passengers was not compromised. One of the pilots needed serious medical care upon landing, undergoing a 12-hour operation after being taken to hospital, according to the airline. The pilots had shared breakfast in a hotel lounge in Hyderabad but drank bottled water from an external company. They all filed Air Safety Reports and provided samples to help pinpoint the source. BA said it was reviewing crew accommodation in that location following isolated reports of sickness.
“Two BA incidents on Wednesday: three pilots poisoned mid-air and an emergency landing at Heathrow.”
Hours earlier, a separate BA flight – BA547, an Airbus A320 from Rome – was forced to abort its landing at Heathrow just 450ft above the ground after a hydraulic fault affected the landing gear deployment. The crew performed a go-around, climbed to 3,700ft and entered a holding pattern for about 20 minutes while working through emergency checklists. They transmitted a Squawk 7700 emergency code. The plane landed safely at 1:45pm, met by airport fire and rescue services as standard procedure. Air traffic controllers closed the northern runway for about 10 minutes, diverting all inbound flights to the southern runway. No injuries were reported and operations quickly returned to normal with minimal delays.
BA has been contacted for comment on both incidents.