British Airways Mistakenly Warns of Crash

British Airways passengers were terrified last Tuesday evening when they heard a crash warning message played on their flight. However, there was no need for them to get worked up, because the message was played by accident.

The British Airways flight was on its way from London to Hong Kong carrying 275 passengers. While it was over the North Sea, a pre-recorded announcement was played, saying that they may need to make an emergency landing on water shortly.

When the cabin crew realized the mistake, they started running through the plane to reassure the passengers that the message was played in error and not to worry. Apparently the pilot hit the wrong button, because they are so close together. However, there has been an investigation started into the matter to find out if it was human error or a computer error.

One of the passengers, 32-year-old Michelle Lord, has been quoted by many media sources saying that everyone was terrified, believing they were going to die. She added that the flight attendants told them that the pilot just hit the wrong button due to their close proximity.

A British Airways spokesman said that the airline apologizes to passengers for causing any distress. The cabin crew immediately announced that the message advising the travelers was an error and that the flight would continue its journey normally, he continued. An investigation is underway, he added.

This isn’t the first time that an error like this has been made. According to reports, an Aer Lingus flight in 2009 mistakenly warned passengers of turbulence in English and French and told them that they were preparing for an emergency landing. A spokesman for the airline said at the time that this kind of thing rarely happens.