London, Oct. 5 -- A transatlantic British Airways flight bound for Chicago has executed a U-turn over Ireland and is returning to London Heathrow after making a sudden, steep descent and declaring an emergency mid-flight.

According to aviation news network AIRLIVE, British Airways Flight BA295, operated by a 30-year-old Boeing 777-200ER registered as G-VIIA, departed from London Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5 at 11:50 AM local time for its scheduled 8-hour and 40-minute journey to Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD).

Approximately one hour into the flight, after reaching a cruising altitude of 37,000 feet, the aircraft encountered an unexpected operational issue over Irish airspace. Flight tracking data reveals that the long-haul ...