British Airways B777 diverts to Boston after engine issues and smoke in cabin

A British Airways flight operating a service from Washington-Dulles Airport (IAD) to London-Heathrow Airport was forced to make an emergency landing in Boston after the crew reported a suspected bird strike. The strike caused engine vibrations and smoke to enter the passenger cabin, according to reports.

The events unfolded as British Airways flight BA216, operated by a Boeing 777-300ER (registered G-STBD), departed Dulles Airport on April 26, 2025, for a routine overnight flight back to the carrier’s home base at Heathrow Airport.

According to data obtained from Flightradar24, having left Dulles at 17:36 local time for its seven-hour flight to London, the aircraft had reached its cruising altitude at 35,000ft and was overhead Nantucket in the Northeast USA when the crew elected to divert to Boston-Logan International Airport (BOS) due to engine vibrations and smoke in the cabin. The flight had been airborne for around 90 minutes at this point.

Flightradar24Having decided to divert, and having alerted the authorities at Boston Airport of its intentions, the flight touched down at Logan Airport at around 19:36, exactly two hours after departing Washington. There were no injuries reported to either the passengers or the crew onboard. Passengers were offloaded, with many being rebooked onto another British Airways flight (BA212 operated by Airbus A380 G-XLEK) that was preparing to depart Boston for Heathrow.

A Massachusetts Port Authority spokesperson confirmed that the aircraft had been involved in a suspected bird strike, but the subsequent landing was achieved without further incident.

British flight BA216 is diverting to Boston due to severe engine vibrations ⁦@AirNavRadar⁩Follow flight BA216 at AirNav Radar https://t.co/AJNU0lnjry pic.twitter.com/TBfmfxcpwC— Flight Emergency (@FlightEmergency) April 26, 2025 British Airways reaffirmed its commitment to passenger and crew safety, stating that the diversion was a precautionary action taken in line with established safety protocols. The airline also expressed its gratitude to the crew for their professionalism and to passengers for their understanding. The Federal Aviation Administration has said that it will be investigating the incident to determine the cause and ensure compliance with safety protocols.

Although the passengers made it back to London with minimal disruption, the aircraft was not so fortunate. The aircraft was subjected to a thorough inspection by British Airways engineers on the ground before it could fly again. However, after having been grounded, the aircraft was eventually cleared to fly again after around 36 hours on the ground in Boston. At the time of writing, the aircraft is over the Atlantic ferrying empty back to Heathrow as BA 9609 to undergo further inspection by engineers at British Airways’ maintenance base.

Ryan Fletcher / ShutterstockThis latest bird strike incident has highlighted the safety issues around such incidents and how effective airline management of the repercussions from such events can be minimized. Bird strike events have been rising in the US in recent years, with nearly 19,400 incidents reported at 713 airports in 2023, according to the FAA.  

Factors thought to be causing this uptick in occurrences include increasing wildlife populations with habitats encroaching the open spaces around airports as urbanization and development increase nearby, the general increase in aviation traffic overall, and the introduction of quieter aircraft engines that provide bird populations with less advance notice of approaching aircraft.

While most bird strikes do not cause serious accidents, they remain a significant operational and safety concern for airlines. The most notable bird strike incident in airline history is the ditching of US Airways flight 1549 in the Hudson River, New York in 2009, when an A320 suffered a double engine flame-out due to the ingestion of geese on departure from New York-LA Guardia Airport (LGA).

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