Archive · 30 Jul 2026
British Airways Jet Nearly Nosedives Over London
A British Airways plane was flying over London on July 6 and suddenly lost control because a computer that tells the pilot how fast the plane is going stopped working.
The plane stalled, which means it could have dropped like a rock.
The captain had to step in and fix the problem by himself, so the plane didn’t crash.
The incident is being investigated, and the captain is on stress leave.
British Airways Airbus A320 stalled 4,000 feet above London on July 6.
The stall was caused by a failure of the aircraft’s air data system.
The captain physically intervened to prevent a crash.
The flight was approaching Heathrow Airport from Dusseldorf.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch is investigating; the captain is on stress leave.
- Who
- British Airways flight crew (captain and first officer)
- What
- Near miss caused by a stall after an air data system failure
- When
- July 6, 2024
- Where
- Over London, approaching Heathrow Airport
- Why
- Failure of the aircraft’s air data system led to loss of control
- Aircraft
- Airbus A320
- Flight Origin
- Dusseldorf
- Destination
- Heathrow Airport
- Incident Date
- July 6, 2024
- Investigation Body
- Air Accidents Investigation Branch
- Captain Status
- Stress leave