British Airways mayday flight ‘seconds from disaster’ after ‘serious incident’ above London

A passenger aboard the flight describes fear and shouts of "I don’t want to die"

The difficulties came as the British Airways Airbus A320 was set to land, with many passengers feeling that something was ‘off’.

It is said that the jet suffered a stall due to a misinput from the first officer, which had to be fixed by the captain.

A passenger recounts the rising fear amongst crew and other passengers alike. 

Travelling back with his wife to the UK from a friend’s birthday party, Edward Killiwick said that passengers were told that the landing had been aborted.

After what he describes as a ‘very violent manoeuvre’, Killiwick stated he ‘did think we would crash’.

Edward said: “The violent manoeuvre almost felt like it was avoiding another aircraft. You could feel the engines going at full power.

“It was a bit odd going around in a holding pattern with no information. I thought if they're not talking, then they're not in a good place.”

He and his partner had to comfort a fellow passenger who ‘completely lost it’ and repeatedly screamed: ‘I don’t want to die.’

A British Airways Airbus A320. Image: Getty.

Edward stated: "I was definitely scared. After the violent manoeuvre I thought, there is definitely something very badly wrong here.

"I did think we could crash. I did think it was a possibility, and I think everyone else did."

"I think everyone was getting very scared," he added, "including one lady who completely lost it and started screaming 'I don't want to die.'

"Then we did land, but still no communication from the flight deck, which I suppose isn't surprising as I suppose they had quite a lot to do."

The flight was met with several fire trucks and police cars on the tarmac, Edward said.

"There were a few people that did clap, but not that many because I think everyone was just relieved to be on the ground," he added.

"Everyone was very, very quiet. There was almost no conversation. That's the eerie thing.

"Julie, my partner, did shed a few tears when we landed."

Although the flight did end up landing safely, the near miss cannot be ignored as the Air Accidental Investigation Branch (AAIB) are currently investigating. 

France’s accidental investigating authorities, BEA, stated that they too received a distress call issued from Flight BA919.

Experts told The Sun the situation could have resulted in 'hull loss', where an aircraft is destroyed or seriously damaged. 

They added it was "The most serious ‘near miss’ in the UK in years."