When a cracked window was discovered on board a British Airways flight from London to Portugal, pilots were forced to emergency land the Airbus A321 back into Gatwick airport after calling the 7700 crisis code.
Crisis averted
Passengers onboard the Oct. 13 flight BA2660 bound to Faro, Portugal were in for a surprise when a crack was discovered on a passenger window near row 3R. En route to its sunny destination, the airbus promptly diverted back round to London Gatwick while over north-western France, less than an hour into the journey.
It is unclear what may have damaged the window in the first place. The aircraft itself is reportedly 22 years old with a seat capacity of 280.
Data from AirNav Radar showed the aircraft diverting course and heading back to Gatwick, as well as the flight-data service reporting the incident on X, posting:
“A passenger window is cracked. Flight deck going through checks before deciding were to divert.”
While a cracked window would only be considered a minor discrepancy, British Airways spared no expense to ensure the safety of their passengers. A spokesperson for BA explained:
“The aircraft diverted following a minor technical issue and landed safely back at London Gatwick. We have apologised to customers for the delay to their journey, and our teams are working hard to get their travel plans back on track.”
Incident history
As previously mentioned a cracked window is not necessarily considered to be a crucial issue for a flight, however we must remember that in just August of this year Serbian national Ljubisa Karović was nearly sucked out of an aircraft through a smashed window on a Ryanair flight from Greece to Germany; his head and right shoulder were severely injured. In response, Ryanair theorised that the window may have been damaged by an external object.
This is a nightmare situation for any flyer, what are your thoughts on this situation? Let us know in the comments!
