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British Airways A320 Mayday Over Heathrow After Air-Data Failure

7/31/2026

44 10 Full Breakdown

Summary

British Airways Mayday

British Airways Airbus A320 (registration G-EUUN) declared a Mayday while approaching London Heathrow on 6 July 2026.
An Air Data Reference failure triggered stall warnings and switched the aircraft to Alternate Law.
The plane briefly descended from 3,000 feet to about 2,200 feet before stabilising and landing with no injuries.
The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch is investigating the air-data failure.

Summary

AAIB Correspondence Probe

The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) announced it will conduct a correspondence investigation, so no field team will be dispatched.
British Airways said it is assisting the AAIB but is not legally able to provide further comment at this stage.
Aviation safety investigator David Gleave said urgency calls are common for medical emergencies, but a mayday for a significant technical failure is considered unusual.

History

Historical Context

In June 2009 Air France Flight 447 crashed over the Atlantic, killing 228 people after pitot-tube icing caused unreliable airspeed data and a stall. The BEA’s findings spurred mandatory pitot-tube replacements and stricter air-data monitoring rules for Airbus fly-by-wire jets. When a British Airways A320 suffered a similar air-data failure on 6 July 2026, the UK AAIB applied those revised protocols.

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British Airways Mayday

British Airways Airbus A320 (registration G-EUUN) declared a Mayday while approaching London Heathrow on 6 July 2026.
An Air Data Reference failure triggered stall warnings and switched the aircraft to Alternate Law.
The plane briefly descended from 3,000 feet to about 2,200 feet before stabilising and landing with no injuries.
The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch is investigating the air-data failure.

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