British Airways London–Chicago flight drop 28,000 ft, declares emergency:Turns back to Heathrow, Flightradar24 shows

British Airways flight BA295 descended approximately 28,000 feet in just a few minutes while flying over Ireland. During this time, the plane activated the emergency code 7700. The flight was then diverted back to London instead of Chicago. The reason for the emergency has not yet been released. According to flight tracking data, the plane reached an altitude of about 9,000 feet over Ireland. The 7700 code indicates a general emergency to air traffic control. It does not indicate the nature of the problem. Emergency declared over Ireland The aircraft was travelling from London Heathrow to Chicago O’Hare International Airport when the incident occurred. The flight reportedly transmitted the international 7700 emergency transponder code, alerting air traffic control that the crew was dealing with a general emergency. The exact nature of the problem that prompted the descent has not been disclosed. A 7700 alert indicates an emergency but does not, by itself, identify what went wrong. Aircraft turns back to London Flight-tracking information showed BA295 holding at around 9,000 feet before making a U-turn and heading back towards Heathrow. Reports subsequently indicated that the aircraft was returning to London rather than continuing its journey to Chicago. The flight had departed Heathrow’s Terminal 5 at around 11.50am local time, according to reports, and was scheduled to take about eight hours and 40 minutes to reach Chicago. The aircraft is registered as G-VIIA.