London, Nov. 2 – British Airways BA2672 declared an emergency after a U-turn over France caused by a landing gear issue on its flight to Palma de Mallorca. The Airbus A320-232 registered G-EUYW left London Gatwick Airport at 16:00 GMT for the Balearic Islands. At 37,000 feet over French airspace, the crew received a Landing Gear Control system failure notification roughly one hour into the flight.
The specific control failure could not be resolved by maintenance teams at Palma de Mallorca Airport, so the crew aborted the trip to ensure support and operational continuity at the origin. Over central France, the pilots transmitted squawk 7700, declaring a general emergency for priority handling and direct routing back to London Gatwick.
Emergency ground crews prepared at London Gatwick for the expected arrival around 18:05 GMT as a standard safety precaution. British Airways BA2672 safely landed on runway 08R and then parked on a remote stand at the airport after the emergency.
This landing gear control failure and subsequent emergency U-turn by British Airways BA2672 from London Gatwick to Palma de Mallorca illustrates effective aviation safety protocols, ensuring a safe return following the technical malfunction over France. The incident concluded without complications once the aircraft reached its origin.