British Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner from London to India turns round MID-AIR after suffering 'flap failure'
By MATT STRUDWICK
A British Airways flight from London to India had to turn around mid-air when it suffered a 'flap failure' - just days after the same model was involved in the Air India disaster that killed all but one passenger.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was yesterday less than an hour into its journey from Heathrow to Chennai when a pilot suspected a 'technical issue'.
The BA35 flight circled for an hour over the strait of Dover to dump fuel before safely landing back on the runway at 1.50pm, according to data on Flightradar24.
Just hours later an Air India 787-8 Dreamliner bound for New Delhi was forced to return to Hong Kong with another suspected 'technical issue'.
It will raise further questions about safety concerns with the Boeing model, and comes on the back of a bombshell video of the Air India tragedy which an aviation expert claimed it proved the plane suffered a 'dual engine failure' before a catastrophic crash that killed 241 passengers.
BA confirmed to MailOnline the Chennai-bound flight returned to London Heathrow as a 'standard precaution'.
A source insisted it was not an emergency landing and it was usual for an aircraft to return to an airport after reporting a technical glitch.
Unverified footage posted on social media from onboard the aircraft showed fuel being dumped.
A British Airways flight, pictured here coming in to land at Heathrow, from London to India had to turn around mid-air when it suffered a 'flap failure'
The BA35 flight circled for an hour over the strait of Dover to dump fuel before safely landing back on the runway at 1.50pm, according to data on Flightradar24
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was yesterday less than an hour into its journey from Heathrow to Chennai when a pilot suspected a 'technical issue'
A BA spokesperson said: 'The aircraft returned to Heathrow as a standard precaution after reports of a technical issue.
'The flight landed safely with crew and customers disembarking as they normally would, and our teams worked hard to get their journeys back on track as soon as possible.'
MailOnline has contacted Heathrow and Boeing for comment.
It comes after an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane bound for New Delhi returned to Hong Kong as a precautionary measure today, after the pilot suspected a technical issue mid-air.
The Dreamliner aircraft flying Air India flight AI315 out of Hong Kong is now undergoing checks, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Flight AI315 took off from Hong Kong at 12.16 pm and landed just over an hour later, according to tracking data on Flightradar24.
Boeing and Air India did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Hong Kong-New Delhi flight.
Commercial airline pilot Steve Schreiber, who analyses plane crashes and close calls, said a new HD-quality video of the Air India tragedy is a 'gamechanger' in diagnosing the cause.
Captain Steve said the protrusion and the grey dot underneath the plane were evidence of the Ram Access Turbine (RAT) deploying
A protrusion on the belly of the aircraft, seen in a newly emerged video, has provided evidence about the plane's final moments
Steve explained that the sound of the plane was also evidence of the RAT being deployed
The plane crashed into a fireball after a suspected double-engine failure shortly after takeoff
Rescue team members work as smoke rises at the site in Ahmedabad, India, June 12, 2025
People look at the debris of an Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad of India's Gujarat state
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, lying in hospital with a bloodied face and injuries after surviving the tragic crash
Astonishing footage showed Vishwash walking away from the scene with some visible injuries to his face
He says it reveals the doomed Dreamliner suffered a 'dual engine failure' before the worst aviation disaster in more than a decade.
The jet began losing height moments after take-off and exploded into a fireball after smashing into a hostel on the ground in Gujarat.
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New video of Air India flight 'shows Boeing 787 did lose power' just before crashing
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All but one of the 242 passengers were killed in the horror crash along with another 38 who were killed on the ground when the plane smashed into residential buildings.
India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) now has both the plane's black boxes as they piece together why the plane crashed just seconds after taking off from Ahmedabad for London Gatwick.
Initially Mr Schreiber, best known as Captain Steve online, suspected there had been an exceptionally simple error in the cockpit when the co-pilot was asked to retract the landing gear, with devastating consequences.
However, a higher quality version of the original video of the crash has emerged, with higher quality visuals and sound, which Mr Schreiber believes could prove that a dual engine failure led to the plane's terrifying final moments.
The 63-year-old, who has 26 years of flying experience - including 11 as a captain - and has flown in 60 different aircraft, said a tiny detail which can be seen on the new video is a 'total gamechanger'.
Mr Schreiber explained on his Youtube channel Captain Steeeve that beneath the right wing of the aeroplane, he could see a 'protrusion on the belly of the aircraft'. Underneath that there is a 'little grey dot', he added.
He said this is evidence of the Ram Access Turbine (RAT) deploying on the plane.
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