BA hit with £1m repair bill after bungling worker's luggage scanner is sucked into engine of airliner at Heathrow

  • Pilot heard a 'loud bang' as the plane was being reversed away from the gate
  • Passengers faced a three-hour delay while a replacement aircraft was found
  • The nine-inch scanner is used to check the right bags are on the plane

By Rob Cooper

Published: | Updated:


A Heathrow baggage handler caused up to £1million worth of damage to a British Airways plane when a luggage scanning gun got sucked into the engine.

The accident happened as the Airbus A320 was being powered up as it prepared to taxi out to the runway.

A worker left the tool on the engine cover and it was pulled inside inside causing around £1million worth of damage to the aircraft which had 150 passengers on board.

Blunder: The luggage scanner was left on the engine cover on the British Airways Airbus A320

Blunder: The luggage scanner was left on the engine cover on the British Airways Airbus A320

The pilot heard a 'loud bang' as the plane was being reversed away from the gate.

Passengers on the A320 which was heading to Bucharest, Romania, were ordered off and faced a delay of three hours while they waited to be put on a replacement flight.

The metal scanner gun, which is around nine inches long, is used by baggage handlers to scan barcodes which are put onto suitcases to make sure they have the right luggage on the flight.

Left behind: A scanner a bit like the one which was left on the plane's engine cover

Left behind: A scanner a bit like the one which was left on the plane's engine cover

The device was left on the cowling and not spotted as the final pre-flight checks were carried out.

A source told MailOnline: 'The gun got sucked inside the engine near the gate when the aircraft was being powered up.

'The pilot realised there was a problem immediately and ordered everyone off the plane. There was a delay while a replacement aircraft was found and then all the bags had to be taken off and moved to the other plane.'

British Airways are investigating the incident which happened at the start of the month.

A spokesman for British Airways said: 'We are sorry that customers on our flight to Bucharest were delayed. We arranged for a replacement aircraft as quickly as possible to keep the delay to a minimum.'

The worker involved was employed by British Airways, rather than Heathrow Airport. No one has been suspended over the incident.

The plane has now been repaired and it is understood the work cost up to £1million.

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