A British Airways plane was seconds away from disaster after a pilot botched a landing and stalled while 4,000ft above London, it is understood.
The aircraft’s captain was allegedly forced to intervene and recover the near miss, described as the greatest of its kind in years, while the Airbus A320 descended into Heathrow Airport.
The incident is said to have unfurled on Flight BA919 from Dusseldorf on July 6 as the 180-passenger heavy aircraft flew over Canary Wharf, east London.
It is understood the chain-of-events was sparked after one of the plane’s air data systems, which tracks critical flight information such as airspeed, failed.
This prompted the British Airways (BA) aircraft to stall, meaning the loss of altitude and control, while above the capital’s finance district.
Unlike a car, the stalling of an aeroplane does not result in the engine stopping.
Instead, the wings lift to such a level that the weight of the plane is no longer supported, causing the aircraft to be at risk of plunging into a nosedive.
The first officer is believed to have tried to solve the issue, however the captain was compelled to physically intervene after their colleague’s attempt failed.
A British Airways Airbus A320 was allegedly seconds away from disaster after a pilot botched a landing and stalled while 4,000ft above London (stock photo)
Sources described the believed error as: ‘The most serious “near miss” in the UK in years’.
Meanwhile, the circumstances in which a captain has to physically step in to help fix a potential issue is ‘unheard’ of within the industry.
Experts told The Sun the situation could have resulted in ‘hull loss’, where an aircraft is destroyed or seriously damaged.
It is understood the captain is now on ‘stress leave’.
The episode was reported as ‘Loss of Control In-flight’ and branded as ‘Pilot Induced’.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch are reportedly investigating the ‘serious incident’. BA told The Sun they are cooperating with the investigation.
BA operates around 19 direct flights per week between Dusseldorf Airport and London Heathrow, with a flight duration of 1hr30minutes.
British Airways has been contacted for comment.
