Terrifying video captured by passenger shows fuel pouring from plane's wing mid-flight

Updated
Video footage shows a British Airways pilot forced to take emergency action by dumping engine fuel over the Bristol Channel
Video footage shows a British Airways pilot forced to take emergency action by dumping engine fuel over the Bristol Channel

Story from SWNS

This is the dramatic moment a British Airways aircraft bound for New York dumped fuel after suffering engine problems over the Bristol Channel.

In a freak turn of events the BA Boeing 777-200ER was forced to turn around as it flew over Bristol and headed back to Heathrow.

The pilot made the critical decision to start offloading the fuel in order to make the plane a safe landing weight for when they returned to the airport.

The sudden redirection saw the aircraft loop down the Bristol channel and fly across South Wales.

Video footage shows a British Airways pilot forced to take emergency action by dumping engine fuel over the Bristol Channel
Video footage shows a British Airways pilot forced to take emergency action by dumping engine fuel over the Bristol Channel

Video footage shows streams of fuel being dumped from the fuel tanks in the wings of the plane after the pilot discovered there was a problem with the right engine.

Passenger Lucy Jane Atkinson, 31, took the footage on the flight when the captain informed passengers there was a problem.

Lucy, who works as a theatre director, explained: "About an hour into the flight the pilot came over the tannoy asking for a crew member to come to the flight deck immediately.

"Then about 10 minutes after that we turned around and doubled back on ourselves.

"Shortly after this he came over the tannoy again and said that there was a problem with the right engine, so as a precaution we were heading back to Heathrow.

"The fuel started being dumped out from the wing tips, and he immediately let us know that was normal, and that we had to dump it out in order to be a safe landing weight.

"I think I'm lucky that I'm a pretty calm flyer. I didn't really feel any nervousness or fear around the situation.

"They kept us so well informed in such a calm manner that I felt in very safe hands throughout the whole episode.

"It was obviously a pretty weird sight seeing all that fuel pumping out from the wings.

"If I'm honest, I was more concerned about the impact of the fuel on the environment rather than the danger to myself as a passenger."

The incident happened on September 14.

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