A PACKED British Airways jet was dramatically grounded after smoke began billowing in the cockpit at 30,000ft yesterday.
The Captain of the London plane to Oslo radioed air traffic controllers demanding an emergency landing.
The British Airways jet was grounded after smoke began billowing in the cockpit mid-air
Fire engines and emergency vehicles sealed off the runway for the touchdownSupplied
The Airbus A320 was flanked by emergency services vehicles as it landed
Footage shared with The Sun showed the moment a dozen fire engines and emergency vehicles sealed off the runway at Amsterdam for the nail-biting unscheduled touchdown.
Terrified passengers were told their jet was forced to touch down immediately over safety fears.
Travellers gripped their seats as Flight BA764 made an impromptu landing in the Netherlands.
The Airbus A320 was flanked by emergency services vehicles as it landed in driving rain.
Emotional flyers were guided off the jet from the rear door – the furthest exit to the smoking cockpit – and into buses to ferry them to the terminal.
The drama unfolded after the jet had left Terminal 5 at Heathrow at 5.09pm on Wednesday.
But 90 minutes into the journey, with the plane over the North Sea and heading towards Norway, the Captain issued his “Mayday” and diverted to Amsterdam.
The flights timetable at Schiphol airport was disrupted after air traffic controllers were forced to clear the schedule to accommodate the BA carrier.
It touched down at 7.38pm and temporarily blocked the taxiway, sparking more delays.
Relieved passengers were allotted overnight hotel accommodation last night in Amsterdam as safety officials examined the faulty BA jet.
The twin-jet plane with up to 190 passengers and crew on board was immediately taken out of service and another aircraft commissioned to continue the journey to Oslo today.
A source told The Sun: “Smoke in the cockpit is never a good thing and at 30,000ft it’s alarming to say the least.
“The BA crew were 100 per cent professional and kept their cool throughout. They followed procedure and took the emergency action necessary to divert the jet as quickly as possible.
“It was a rough ride for the passengers but they were in safe hands.
“Landing the jet at a remote part of the airfield in Amsterdam shows how serious the situation was. The emergency services were taking no chances and wanted the smoking jet as far from the terminal building as possible.
“An investigation will forensically examine what caused this incident.”
British Airways told The Sun: “This aircraft was diverted into Amsterdam Schiphol Airport as a precaution following a minor technical issue onboard.
“We’ve apologised to our customers for the disruption to their travel plans and we’ll get them on their way as soon as possible.”
OTHER BA EMERGENCIES
Yesterday’s emergency landing came after a British Airways pilot dramatically aborted take-off on the runway due to a bomb threat.
Chaotic scenes unfolded as bosses forced the cockpit crew to remain grounded just seconds before “wheels up” on Sunday, May 5.
The Boeing 777-200ER service from Bermuda to London was abandoned as passengers were strapped in their seats and the captain squawked 7700, which is air code for an emergency.
Air traffic control cancelled the plane’s final take-off clearance and Flight BA158 was abandoned with passengers ushered outside onto the tarmac as police and anti-terror cops combed the plane.
In February, another British Airways flight was forced to make an emergency landing at a Scottish airport after a mid-air alert was issued.
The aircraft was travelling from Aberdeen to London Heathrow when the alarm was raised.
Flight BA1307 was forced to divert to Edinburgh Airport after broadcasting an emergency squawk signal.
Footage from Flightradar24 showed the aircraft circling several times above West Lothian before continuing to Edinburgh.
The packed British Airways jet landed in driving rainSupplied
GettyEarlier this month, a British Airways pilot aborted take-off due to a bomb threat[/caption]
X/FlightRadar24The flight to Bermuda from London had to be abandoned[/caption]