A British Airways Boeing 777 flying from London to Chicago had to turn back on Monday after experiencing a technical problem that forced its pilots to make a rapid descent of 28,000 feet (over 8,000 meters) in just seven minutes.
The plane took off from Heathrow Airport at 12:15 and, approximately half an hour later, while over Ireland, descended from 36,000 feet to 9,000 in about seven minutes, according to FlightAware tracking data.
After the descent, the aircraft began its return to the UK and spent nearly four hours making several passes over the Bristol Channel before landing back at Heathrow at 17:00.
British Airways explained that the plane returned to the London airport after the crew detected a "technical issue," although the company did not specify the nature of the incident.
"The plane landed safely after our highly skilled pilots returned to Heathrow following a technical issue," the airline stated. Passengers were able to disembark normally, and British Airways teams are working to rearrange their travel plans.
Affected passengers may be accommodated in hotels while the company looks for an alternative to complete their journey, following the obligations set by the British Civil Aviation Authority.
The incident comes weeks after several technical issues that affected the UK National Air Traffic Service (NATS), causing significant delays and the cancellation of hundreds of flights at various airports in the country.
NATS attributed those disruptions to software failures, explanations that drew criticism from several major British airlines.