British Airways ‘flight to nowhere’ after rapid descent and oxygen masks deployed

The plane flew for over five hours before returning to Heathrow

Flight BA259, operated by a Boeing 777-200ER was meant to be heading to Chicago O'Hare International from London Heathrow Airport, before it made a sharp turn over Ireland at around 12.50pm yesterday afternoon (Monday, 5 October).

Flight data shows the plane descended to around 9,000ft from cruising altitude in a few minutes before it turned near Knock in County Mayo.

It comes after the plane squawked 7700, the internationally recognised code for a midair emergency.

Images from onboard the flight show emergency oxygen masks hanging from the ceiling, often used in a decompression event, explaining the standard procedure of bringing the aircraft to a lower altitude.

As per The Mirror, British Airways said the pilot turned the plane around due to a "technical issue".

It was, at the time, the most tracked plane in the world with almost 30,000 people following on Flightradar24.

The plane headed past the south of Ireland before flying over Pembrokeshire, in what looked like a routine return to Heathrow Airport.

However, the plane turned again over Swindon, where it headed down to Dartmoor National Park, before turning north west towards Pembrokeshire.

The plane's tracked route. Image: Flightradar24 screenshot.

The plane then did a U-turn where it headed back towards Dartmoor, before once again heading towards Pembrokeshire - it has this pattern twice so far.

According to simpleflying.com the plane, registered G-VIIA, is the oldest aircraft in the British Airways fleet, having been delivered to the airline in July 1997.

A British Airways 777-200ER. Image: Adobe Stock.

It was also the first ever 777-200ER to roll off the production line.

The plane entered into a holding pattern, where it appeared to dump fuel, as per some reports.

This is a safety precaution, as planes intend to land much lighter than at take off, having normally burnt fuel by time of arrival.

The plane landed safely back at Heathrow over five hours after it left.