British Airways flight from Heathrow (London, UK) to Valencia (Spain) was forced to make an emergency landing after smoke filled the cabin.
The incident occurred on flight BA422, carrying 175 passengers and eight crew members on board. BA’s Airbus A321 departed from London Heathrow (LHR) at 15:10 on August 5, 2019, and landed in Valencia (VLC). However, on the landing approach, the aircraft cabin filled with smoke. The airline has explained that smoke was caused by “technical issues” without specifying.
“Flight BA422 from Heathrow to Valencia experienced a technical issue on its landing approach into Valencia,” British Airways spokesperson explained to AeroTime. “All our customers were evacuated safely by our crew and met by the airport’s emergency services”.
“There were 175 customers on board the flight, with six cabin crew and two pilots. Three customers were taken to hospital as a precaution and have since been discharged. In addition to our team on site, other British Airways team members have arrived in Valencia to help our customers and our local airport partners with anything they need,” BA spokesperson added.
After the incident, scared passengers took to social media to share their reactions.
One passenger described the incident as a “terrifying experience”, which felt like a “horror film”.
.@British_Airways terrifying experience on flight to Valencia. Felt like horror film. Thankfully everyone safe. Flight filled with smoke and had to be emergency evacuated. #britishairways pic.twitter.com/NT4Gtme9kl
— Lucy Brown (@lucyaabrown) August 5, 2019
“No communication 60 minutes and counting!”
#BritishAirways #Valencia #EmergencyLanding Still waiting to hear what actually happened on our British Airways flight from LHR to Valencia in which our cabin filled with smoke in the last 10 minutes of flight, had to disembark via emergency chutes. No comms 60 mins and counting! pic.twitter.com/UywuesxHeC
— Gayle Fitzpatrick (@gaylem1978) August 5, 2019