The British Airways plane which was filled with smoke has had two further “fume events” onboard, despite it being fitted with a new engine, it has emerged.
It comes as some passengers are considering taking legal action against the airline, after they claim the thick white smoke has left them with breathing difficulties.
The London Heathrow to Valencia flight, BA422, was forced to make an emergency landing on August 5 after the cabin filled with smoke 10 minutes before landing.
BA have said they are awaiting the conclusions of the Spanish authorities air accident report, from the CIAIAC, to determine the cause of the incident.
But The Telegraph can reveal the aircraft was put back into operation just one month after the incident, following the replacement of one of its engines.
Despite this, the A321 aircraft has gone on to experience two further “fume events” onboard.
BA would not give details of what the incidents were, but said fume events were caused by a variety of issues, including “burnt food in the oven, aerosols and e-cigarettes, strongly-smelling food in cabin bags, and de-icing fluid”.
Cabin air enters the plane via a system which compresses air from the engines, and campaigners say a “fume event” occurs when the air becomes contaminated by chemicals such as engine oil, hydraulic fluid, or other potentially hazardous chemicals.
The airliner confirmed the plane was put back into service after an extensive investigation by BA engineers who ruled it was safe to fly, but they have not commented on what caused the smoke.
In a letter seen by The Telegraph, sent to passengers onboard the flight, BA said “it appears at this stage that the incident was caused by a failure of an engine bearing”.
Despite the engine being replaced, two more fume events have been recorded on the same aircraft in the last two months.
The first occurred just one day after the Airbus 321 was put back into operation on September 6, on a flight from Copenhagen to London Heathrow.
The second on October 9, on a flight between London Heathrow and Aberdeen.
BA would not give details of what the incidents were, but said fume events were caused by a variety of issues, including “burnt food in the oven, aerosols and e-cigarettes, strongly-smelling food in cabin bags, and de-icing fluid”.
Cabin air enters the plane via a system which compresses air from the engines, and campaigners say a “fume event” occurs when the air becomes contaminated by chemicals such as engine oil, hydraulic fluid, or other potentially hazardous chemicals.
The airliner confirmed the plane was put back into service after an extensive investigation by BA engineers who ruled it was safe to fly, but they have not commented on what caused the smoke.
In a letter seen by The Telegraph, sent to passengers onboard the flight, BA said “it appears at this stage that the incident was caused by a failure of an engine bearing”.
Despite the engine being replaced, two more fume events have been recorded on the same aircraft in the last two months.
The first occurred just one day after the Airbus 321 was put back into operation on September 6, on a flight from Copenhagen to London Heathrow.
The second on October 9, on a flight between London Heathrow and Aberdeen.
The 175 passengers onboard the August 5 flight had to slide down emergency shutes onto the runway at Valencia airport and were left “hyperventilating” and “crying”.
Zannah Marchand wrote on Twitter: "Just been evacuated off a flight to Valencia after plane filled with smoke. No water, no first aid. People crying. No BA representative. Help."
Professor Vyvyan Howard, a emeritus professor of pathology at the University of Ulster, has researched the effects of fume events upon crew and passenger health.
“As this fleet (of aircraft) ages, I would suspect these sorts of events will increase in frequency,” he said.
“In the long run they will probably have to redesign aircraft, as they have done in the Dreamliner 787.”
The air system on the Boeing Dreamliner 787 is pumped into the cabin separately from the engines.
Prof. Howard said if the “oil seal” on an engine fails then it is “pretty much guaranteed” that fumes will enter the cabin.
He added previous studies have shown the presence of dangerous chemicals in cabin air after these fume events.
“(Airlines) say ‘oh it’s something burning in the gally’, but you can’t see in front of your nose,” Prof. Howard said.
“They always mention that it might be due to other things, but here you’ve got an acrid fume throughout the cabin, and there is not much doubt about where those have come from.”
In a statement BA said: “We are legally unable to comment on causes until the Spanish air accident investigation is concluded.
“We would never operate an aircraft if we believed it posed any health or safety risk to our customers or crew.
“Research commissioned by the European Aviation Safety Agency, in 2017 concluded that the air quality on board aircraft was similar or better than that observed in normal indoor environments.
“We always encourage our colleagues to tell us about any concerns they have, with reports passed onto the Civil Aviation Agency.
“Safety is our first priority and every report is thoroughly investigated, with typically 151 engineering checks before an aircraft is cleared to continue flying.”
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