Fire on BA plane after in-flight entertainment system burst into flames

Cabin crew on a British Airways flight from Dallas, Texas, to London Heathrow had to use five fire extinguishers to put out a blaze that was sparked by the plane's in-flight entertainment system.

The Boeing 747 was carrying 275 passengers on board when the incident occurred at 30,000ft.

An electrical fire was started in the cabin service's director's office when the control system for the plane's in-flight entertainment system burst into flames.

A BA spokesperson told the Daily Mail: "It took about five minutes to fight the fire.

"It was an electrical fire and they are a little harder to extinguish. I believe they used five extinguishers."

The newspaper added the the flight left Dallas at 4.45pm on 13 October landing in Dallas at 7.25am the next day in London, but the details of the incident have only just emerged.

The BA spokesman rejected reports there was almost an emergency landing, and that flight crew were down to their last two fire extinguishers. He added: "Ultimately, this was a small fire that was brought under control very quickly by crew. The flight continued as normal throughout."

Meanwhile, last month a British Airways plane from London to New York made a U-turn over the Atlantic and diverted to Shannon Airport in Ireland after the crew reported smoke on board.

Flight 173 was over two hours into its journey when it turned around, reports RTE News.

Emergency services had been standing by but returned to the fire station just before the jet landed safely.

Related articles

BA 'lost' Russian schoolboy on first unaccompanied flight

BA pilot leaves captain to land plane on own after food poisoning