British Airways London-Chicago flight declares emergency, drops 28,000 ft over Ireland

British Airways flight BA295 from London to Chicago descended from around 37,000 feet to 9,000 feet over Ireland after pilots declared an emergency using the Squawk 7700 transponder code, reports said. The Boeing 777-200ER aircraft then turned back towards London. Squawk 7700 is universal code pilots use to immediately alert ground radar and air traffic control of a general emergency.