British Airways Heathrow flight under investigation after mayday call

A British Airways flight declared a mayday while approaching Heathrow Airport after a technical failure triggered repeated stall warnings, prompting an investigation by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).

According to the AAIB, the Airbus A320 operating Flight BA919 from Dusseldorf suffered an Air Data Reference (ADR) failure during its approach on 6 July.

The fault affected systems that provide key flight information, including airspeed and altitude.

The agency said the crew abandoned their first landing attempt after the initial stall warning and declared a 'PAN PAN' emergency before entering a holding pattern to complete safety checks.

During a second approach, another stall warning sounded at about 3,000 feet. The AAIB said the pilots carried out a 'potentially abrupt recovery manoeuvre' before upgrading the emergency to a MAYDAY call, giving the aircraft priority to land.

The aircraft landed safely and no injuries or damage were reported.

The AAIB has classified the event as a serious 'Loss of Control In-Flight' incident and is investigating the cause of the system failure and the crew's response.

The agency said it has not concluded that pilot error caused the incident.

It also said reports claiming the aircraft came "seconds from disaster" or that a "pilot blunder" occurred have not been confirmed.

British Airways said: “We're assisting the AAIB with its investigation and are legally unable to comment further at this stage.”