Windows fell out of King’s plane mid-flight after filming lights melted frames

Windows fell out of a plane used by the King in mid-air after filming lights melted the frames, a report has revealed.

Three window panes fell off the Titan Airways Airbus at 14,000ft last October after it took off from Stansted Airport on a flight to Florida.

After take-off, passengers noticed “increased cabin noise” and a crew member discovered one window was visibly loose in its frame.

The A321neo returned to Stansted after 36 minutes airborne.

None of the 24 people aboard the Airbus was injured in the incident.

After landing it was discovered that a total of three windows were missing – and fresh impact damage was visible on the aeroplane’s tail.

King Charles and Queen Camilla had previously used the jet for a state visit to France last September.

It has also been used by Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, and James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, on official trips abroad.

Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) analysts found that the Airbus’ acrylic windows had shrunk after being exposed to “high intensity” lights used for filming an advert the previous day.

Advertisers were on board the aeroplane at Stansted the day before the incident to film some promotional footage.

Film technicians positioned high intensity halogen lights outside the airliner’s fuselage, shining in through the windows to create a sunrise effect.

The six lights used had a combined lighting capacity of 72,000 watts – more than seven hundred times greater than a household light bulb.

The AAIB said: “The lights were first shone on the right side of the aircraft for approximately five and a half hours, with the light focused on the cabin windows just aft of the overwing exits.

“The lights were then moved to the left side of the aircraft where they illuminated a similar area on the left side for approximately four hours.”

Technicians placed the lights between six and nine metres away from the Airbus’ windows.

Data from the light manufacturer suggested that surfaces six metres (19ft 6in) away could see temperatures rise by as much as 147F (64C).

No information was given by the AAIB about who the advertiser was.

Airliner windows have two panes: a tough outer pane designed to withstand extreme temperatures and pressures, and an inner “scratch pane” on the passenger side.

“All the scratch panes remained in place so there was no direct, unrestricted aperture between the passenger cabin and the outside air,” said the AAIB.

A Titan Airways spokesman said: We would like to thank the members of the AAIB team for their extremely thorough and professional investigation. The aviation industry as a whole will benefit from the lessons learnt from this event.

“We are also pleased to hear that our colleagues at Airbus will be circulating further information to its worldwide customer base, highlighting the potential damage that can be caused by high-intensity lighting.

“We are also grateful to all of our crew members onboard, whose swift and professional handling of the incident was exemplary.”

The airliner was registered G-GBNI while it was being used for royal and Government flights. At the time it was painted white with a Union flag logo on the tail.

After the Government charter ended, the Airbus was re-registered G-OATW and repainted in a black colour scheme.

The Government regularly charters commercial airliners for official trips by ministers and members of the Royal family.

There was no suggestion in the AAIB report that any Airbus manufacturing defect was to blame for the airliner’s windows melting.