Both runways were closed at Heathrow Airport after a British Airways (BA) plane made an emergency landing, the airport has said. All passengers and crew were "safely evacuated" from the plane following an engine fire at about 09:00 BST. In a statement, BA said: "The BA762, Heathrow to Oslo service, returned back to Heathrow shortly after take-off due to a technical fault." The southern runway has re-opened. The northern runway remains closed. BA said the Airbus A319 was carrying 75 passengers - who were safely evacuated - and a "full investigation" would be conducted into the incident. John Coghlan told the BBC he saw a "black smoke trail" from the engine of a British Airways Airbus A319. He said: "[It was a] safe landing and passengers evacuated by chutes on runway." Jez Stamp, from Farnham in Surrey, who was on a plane waiting to take off to Jordan, said: "I could see smoke on the right engine. "We just saw it come to a halt and fire engines were already there waiting for it and they immediately started hosing the plane down." London Fire Brigade tweeted: "One crew from Heathrow fire station is assisting Heathrow Airport's fire service with an aircraft fire. "We believe the fire is now out." Source:- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-22652718
Plane 'On Fire' Flying Over Central London Jamie told Sky News: "As you looked up you could just see the flames being chucked out of the engine ... It was on full fire when we saw it." Both runways were shut at Heathrow Airport where the British Airways aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing due to an "aircraft fire." Clive Cook, who lives under the flight path, told Sky News: "The actual engine itself was on fire. "This plane was coming over and suddenly the tone of the engine changed dramatically, and I could almost say it sounded as if it was like a blowout, or an explosion." The incident is not thought to be terror related and all passengers are safe. Sky News presenter Jeremy Thompson was on a different flight coming into Heathrow and said that the pilot told them that they were being held up by a "bird strike" on a plane. A statement from British Airways said: "The BA762, Heathrow to Oslo service, returned back to Heathrow shortly after take-off due to a technical fault. "The Airbus A319 aircraft was carrying 75 customers. The aircraft landed safely and emergency slides were deployed and we are currently caring for our customers. "Emergency services attended the aircraft. We will be carrying out a full investigation into the incident." One picture shared on Twitter appears to show the engine that was not on fire exposed as it is overworked. London Fire Brigade crew have said they believe that the fire is now out. The plane landed on the northern runway which remains shut but the southern runway has now been reopened Source:- http://www.thebeach.co.uk/news/irnn...h/vod/2013/05/240513-heathrow-online-0930.flv
On the Airbus 319/320/321 the engine covers are "gull wing style", hinged at the top, and are latched closed by four latches which are at the bottom. To unlatch them you have to lie on the ground under the engines and pull the latches open, and the same must be done to close them. The latches are therefore not easy to see on a walk round preflight check unless the pilot bends down to look. It looks very much as if somebody forgot to latch them closed after routine servicing, and the starboard engine surged due to irregular airflow.
