A British Airways plane was forced to make an emergency landing after a piece of ice dropped from a plane flying 1,000 feet above it.
On December 23, 2021, while flying from London to Costa Rica (BA 2237), the Boeing 777 was travelling at 35,000 feet when ice impacted from above, smashing its glass.
The pilots were successfully able to land the jet in San Jose, Costa Rica, thanks to a robust inner glass screen. The plane, on the other hand, required to be fixed after landing.
British Airways 777 flying from Gatwick to Costa Rica has its windshield smashed by block of ice which fell from a plane flying 1,000ft above it. No injuries reported. https://t.co/CjYBJkGSKC pic.twitter.com/TzEF3dW2Nu
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) December 27, 2021
The flight from San Jose to Gatwick (BA 2236) had to be rescheduled for the next evening. The airline had intended to divert a jet from Jamaica, but this did not happen, causing the flight to be delayed even more.
On December 26, 2021, the 200 trapped passengers arrived at Gatwick shortly before lunchtime. The passengers appeared to be in good spirits despite the 50-hour wait, cheering as the British Airways crew for their flight to Gatwick arrived.
#ba2236 the joy of the pilot arriving at the gate in SJO after 48 hours of delays ruining Christmas #3rdtimelucky #getushome @BBCNews @guardian @SkyNews @Independent @DailyMailUK pic.twitter.com/DsYkZ8kCQE
— Amanda McLaughlan (@amcostume) December 26, 2021