BA flight forced back to Heathrow after 'engine surge'
Witness saw flames 'spitting out' of an engine and said France-bound plane was making spluttering noises as it took off
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BA said the aircraft, an Airbus A319 bound for Lyon in France (not pictured), landed safely at Heathrow. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images
A British Airways plane has had to turn back to Heathrow after experiencing "an engine surge" on take-off.
BA said the aircraft, an Airbus A319 bound for Lyon in France, landed safely after the incident at about 9pm on Thursday.
A witness told the BBC he had seen flames "spitting out" of an engine and that the plane was making spluttering noises as it was taking off.
Tom Puttick, who works near Heathrow, said: "I was in the petrol station opposite the airport which is when I heard the bang, so I turned around and the airplane had flames spitting out of the engine with a spluttering noise as it was taking off.
"I then watched it continue to climb and the engine was still emitting flames intermittently. Lots of blue lights then emerged on the airport while the plane, I guess, turned around to make an emergency landing."
A BA spokeswoman said: "A flight experienced what's known as an 'engine surge' as it took off from Heathrow, but it returned and touched down safely.
"Our crew cared for our customers on-board and kept them informed. We train our pilots to the very highest standards including how to respond to these type of events, and the engine was immediately shut down."
She said passengers had been given hotel accommodation overnight and were rebooked to fly on Friday.
"We have scheduled a larger aircraft to operate to Lyon to ensure we can get all our customers there as soon as possible. We can understand how frustrating the delay to their plans must be.
"The aircraft is being thoroughly checked over by engineers. The safety of our customers, crew and aircraft is of the utmost importance to British Airways."
Last year, a BA Airbus A319 bound for Oslo had to return to Heathrow after smoke was seen pouring from one of the engines.
Investigators later found that doors of the engines had been left unlatched during maintenance. The coverings of the two engines – called fan cowl doors – then fell off as the aircraft left the runway, puncturing a fuel pipe on the right engine. Dramatic film of the incident in May was captured as the plane flew over London.
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