A British Airways flight to Beijing made an emergency landing earlier today in eastern Siberia after its navigation system failed.
The plane came down safely with 270 passengers and 16 crew on board.
“Passengers were told there was a malfunction of the flight software on board flight BA 039,” stated the Siberian Times.
“The plane landed 40 minutes after the initial request from the pilot to bring the plane down in Irkutsk.”
The jumbo landed at 10.41am local time (02.41 London time).
“The plane made an emergency landing in Irkutsk because of the failure of navigation equipment,” said an official at the Siberian airport.
“Its passengers will be accommodated in hotels Angara and Irkutsk.”
The BA website indicated that an onward flight would leave to the Chinese capital at 21.00 local time tonight, though it was not confirmed.
Siberian airline S7 is a member of the same OneWorld Alliance as BA.
Russian sources indicated the navigation problem was seen as serious and required BA engineers to fly out to Siberia before the aircraft could be moved.
