Maybe don’t fly BA.
GrauniadAir traffic controllers monitoring a British Airways jumbo jet were stunned at the pilot’s decision to try to “get as far as we can” after an engine caught fire on takeoff, a transcript of discussions between the plane and the control tower revealed.
The controllers in Los Angeles expected the four-engine Boeing 747 to turn around but, after taking advice from BA’s operations base, the pilot carried on towards London. He told air traffic control: “We just decided we want to set off on our flight-plan route and get as far as we can.”
He was allowed on his way, but an air traffic controller who had seen the flames coming from the engine told a colleague: “If you would have saw what we saw out the window, you’d be amazed at that.”
Flight 268 eventually made it to the UK, but the pilot was so concerned about his fuel levels that he carried out an emergency landing in Manchester.
[…]
By pressing ahead with the flight, the aircraft avoided a £100,000 bill for delay compensation, though there is no suggestion that this is why this flight went ahead.
As FARK put it: “On the other hand, if a drunken passenger had been rude to a flight attendant they would have had an emergency landing immediately.”
Another quality BartLink.
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