BA passengers frightened by accidental crash message

British Airways has issued an apology after accidentally playing an emergency crash message mid-flight last week.

Travel Insurance News - 23/01/2012

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Some 270 passengers were more than halfway between Miami and Heathrow airport on Wednesday when the pilot of the BA jet accidentally initiated a message declaring that the plane may soon have to make an emergency water landing into the North Sea.

The incident occurred at around 3am when the plane was cruising at nearly 35,000 feet. Those onboard said the announcement, which was a pre-recorded message featuring a female voice, caused screaming and panic as travellers prepared for the worst until flight attendants traversed the aisleways to assure everyone that it had been played by accident.

One passenger, a Scottish father from Edinburgh, told reporters that he had immediately thought that everyone was going to die until crewmembers told him to ignore the warning.

The scare has prompted an official apology from British Airways, a spokesman for the carrier said that passengers on flight BA 0206 were caused “undue concern” and that the company wished to sincerely apologise. Passengers were also handed written apology letters upon arrival in London.

The news follows a similar incident last year on a BA flight from Heathrow to Hong Kong, when an automated announcement asked passengers to prepare for a crash scenario.

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