London:
Doors on both engines of a British Airways plane which made an emergency landing at London's Heathrow Airport last week had been left unlatched during maintenance, an investigation report said on Friday.
Remnants of the fan cowl doors from the Oslo-bound Airbus A319 were found on the runway following the incident on May 24, according to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch.
The 75 passengers on board had to evacuate the plane by emergency slides and Heathrow was temporarily forced to close both its runways while crews put out a fire in one of the engines.
"The fan cowl doors from both engines detached, puncturing a fuel pipe on the right engine and damaging the airframe, and some aircraft systems," the AAIB report said.
The pilot decided to fly back to Heathrow, and on the return approach an external fire developed on the right engine. It was shut down and the plane landed safely.
"Subsequent investigation revealed that the fan cowl doors on both engines were left unlatched during maintenance and this was not identified prior to aircraft departure," the report said.
The BA flight was the first of the day for the plane following maintenance overnight.
Paramedics treated three people for minor injuries following the incident, which occurred at the start of a bank holiday weekend when 128,000 people were due to travel from the airport.