Oxygen masks 'accidentally' deployed on British Airways flight from Singapore just 2 hours after take-off

Passengers on board British Airways flight BA16 had the shock of their lives when oxygen masks deployed without warning on their way to London from Singapore. 

According to The Sun, passengers were two hours into their flight on Monday (April 8) when the media screens and lights in the plane suddenly turned off, following which oxygen masks dropped from the panels overhead.

An automated announcement instructing passengers to put on their oxygen masks was also played, alarming passengers who didn't have a clue what was going on.

It was only after two minutes that flight attendants came over to panicked passengers, telling them to ignore the message as it was a technical error and that a step-by-step reboot of systems was being conducted, reported The Sun. 

Photos published showed oxygen masks hanging from the overhead panels of the business class section. 

Although cabin crew tried to reassure the terrified passengers, there was no apology nor assurance from the pilot even as the plane started its descent, said passenger Mitchell Webb, 24.

He recounted his experience to the Evening Standard, recalling that the flight was referred to as "an old girl" by flight attendants. He noted that cabin crew had mentioned that not all oxygen masks were deployed, which made him wonder if the same would happen in an actual emergency. 

But what disturbed Webb the most was the unusual silence from the captain, who only made an announcement 45 mins before touchdown, but did not address the incident at all.

Webb added that an email from British Airways was sent to passengers on BA16, apologising for the incident and the 'inadvertent' deployment of oxygen masks during the flight. 

In an email to AsiaOne, a spokesperson from British Airways said that their "flight and cabin crew reassured customers after ​oxygen masks were deployed accidentally".

"We are sorry for the distress this may have caused, and are investigating how it happened."

kimberlyfoo@asiaone.com