A British Airways Airbus A320 flight from Dusseldorf airport in Germany issued a “mayday” distress call on its approach to London Heathrow Airport on July 6, following two stall warnings on the aircraft. Despite the urgent call, the plane landed without further incident.
The UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has confirmed it is “investigating a serious incident” related to the event. A British Airways spokesperson stated the airline is assisting the AAIB with its inquiry and is legally unable to comment further at this stage.
According to France's Air Safety Investigation Authority, the BEA, the incident began as the plane neared Heathrow when a data system failure triggered an initial stall warning. The crew then switched the aircraft to a different operational mode known as “alternate law,” which disables some automated flight protection systems. A second stall warning subsequently occurred at 3,000 feet, a point aviation experts suggest would have been only a few miles from the airport. The urgency call the crew had previously made was then elevated to a “mayday,” signaling imminent danger.
The BEA website attributed its statement to the AAIB, though the UK branch would not confirm the attribution. The AAIB, however, issued its own statement: “The AAIB is investigating a serious incident involving a commercial aircraft which occurred on 6 July on approach to Heathrow airport.” The investigation will be conducted as a correspondence inquiry, meaning no field team will be dispatched.
Aviation safety investigator David Gleave noted that while various forms of mayday calls exist, and urgency messages are “not unusual”—often for reasons like sick passengers needing medical attention—it is “very unusual for it to be a significant failure on board the aeroplane.”
The crew then flew the aircraft in a different mode called "alternate law", which removes some automated flight protection systems. Another stall warning then occurred at 3,000 feet – which experts say was likely to have been just miles away from the airport.
