LONDON — Flight operations on one of Heathrow’s main arrival strips came to a brief standstill this afternoon after a medical emergency helicopter executed an unscheduled landing directly on the runway, forcing an incoming long-haul airliner into a low-altitude go-around.
The incident unfolded at 4:15 PM local time when an Airbus Helicopters H135 (registration G-LAAB), operated by London’s Air Ambulance Charity (HEMS), approached Heathrow Airport from the east following a departure from The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. Flying at an altitude of approximately 400 feet, the emergency aircraft landed directly in the middle of Runway 27R.
The unexpected arrival disrupted the tightly scheduled landing sequence at the world’s busiest dual-runway airport.
Directly behind the helicopter on short final was China Southern Airlines flight CZ307, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (registration B-227L) arriving from Wuhan. Air traffic controllers issued immediate instructions to the Dreamliner, forcing its flight crew to initiate a go-around at just 350 feet above ground level. The widebody jet powered up its engines, climbed out of the approach corridor, and entered a holding pattern to await a second landing attempt.
The disruption was short-lived. Minutes after touchdown, the HEMS helicopter taxied off Runway 27R and relocated to Stand B32 near Terminal 5, allowing air traffic control to clear the active runway and quickly resume normal flight operations.
London’s Air Ambulance regularly responds to critical trauma incidents across the capital, though operational landings on active runways at Heathrow remain exceptionally rare. Authorities have not yet disclosed the specific nature of the medical emergency that prompted the landing at Terminal 5.
