Pupils’ flight home delayed after report of ‘smoke’ on plane

A GROUP of schoolchildren flying home from America was diverted after smoke was reported in the cabin of their plane.

The 13 students from The Oratory School in Woodcote, aged 13 to 18, faced an unexpected diversion during their British Airways flight from Washington D.C. to London Heathrow.

They were returning from a tennis trip when they boarded their flight at Dulles International Airport at about 11.30pm on Sunday.

About three hours into the flight the plane turned around after reports of smoke in the cabin.

The plane was diverted to Boston Logan international airport and landed at about 5am local time on Monday.

Michael Hennessy, who is the head of history at the school and was on the plane, said: “We have been in Philadelphia and Washington and were flying back home when, unfortunately, we were redirected to Boston — a city I have always wanted to go to but not just quite in this circumstance.

“On the plane it was fairly calm and the onboard crew did a great job. They kept everyone calm and it was all okay.

“We had set off and were over the Atlantic when my colleague alerted me that the stewards were quite active around the cabin.

“We then noticed on the map that the plane had started to turn around. Soon after the map was disabled. One of the pilots then announced we were being redirected to Boston due to a technical issue with the aircraft.

“When we landed there were fire crews and ambulances around the plane and fire officers came on board.

“One of the BA staff said there was a smell in the cabin at one point that was being investigated, I didn’t smell anything.

“The kids were fine and the BA staff were helpful.”

The group were rescheduled to catch a Virgin Atlantic flight on Monday evening but due to an issue with ticketing they missed it.

They were then booked on a British Airways flight leaving on Tuesday night in premium economy.

In a statement, the Federal Aviation Authority said: “British Airways Flight 29C landed safely at Boston Logan International Airport around 5.10am local time on Monday, July 8 after the crew reported smoke in the cabin. The FAA will investigate.”

British Airways said: “We have apologised to our customers for the delay in their journey due to a technical issue.

“Safety is our top priority and we would never operate a flight unless it was safe to do so. There was no smoke or fire. The emergency services will have attended as a precaution only, in line with standard procedure.”