By Our Reporter
The Titan Airways flight travelling from London to Orlando in October had to U-turn after departing when a crew member noticed one of the windowpanes was loose.
Passengers had also noticed the plane was noisier and colder than usual, according to the Telegraph.
But the full extent of the damage wasn’t known until the plane landed: Three of the windowpanes panes had fallen off, and impact damage was noticeable on the tail, according to a new report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).
Two of the windowpanes were completely removed, while the third window was missing the inner pane and a rubber seal, and a fourth window was damaged, the report said.
There were nine passengers and 11 crew on board. None of them reported injuries.
The aircraft was originally used by the British government. It was later sold to Titan Airways, which describes itself as a charter airline specializing in VIP and corporate travel.
The Telegraph reported that Charles and Camilla had travelled in the same aircraft during their visit to France in September.
It had also been used by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and James Cleverly, the UK’s Foreign Secretary, the outlet said.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment when contacted by Business Insider.
The AAIB report identified the cause of the damage: The windows had been exposed to high-intensity lights when the aircraft was used to film a commercial at London’s Stansted Airport the day before.
The lights, used to convey a sunrise, had been aimed at the windows for several hours at a time, the report said. They had a combined capacity of 72,000 watts, which is more than seven hundred times more powerful than a standard light bulb, The Telegraph reported.
There was no suggestion in the AAIB report that manufacturing issues contributed to the damage.
Although the aircraft lost windowpanes, that doesn’t mean wind was shooting through the cabin, according to the report.
“All the scratch panes remained in place so there was no direct, unrestricted aperture between the passenger cabin and the outside air,” it said, noting the amount of leaking air was not enough to trigger a pressurization problem.
Speaking to Business Insider, a Titan Airways spokesperson said, “the aviation industry as a whole will benefit from the lessons learnt from this event.”
“We are also pleased to hear that our colleagues at Airbus will be circulating further information to its worldwide customer base, highlighting the potential damage that can be caused by high-intensity lighting,” they said.
This is not the first time an aircraft has sustained damage from strong lighting on a film set.
At least one other Airbus and three Boeing planes had previously reported damaged windows during respective filming events, the report said, adding that knowledge of these incidents previously wasn’t widespread.
Damage to one of the Boeing planes was significant. A hole burned through one of the windows while five other windows were deformed after 2,000W lights were used, the report said.
In March 2020, Boeing released a statement advising against the use of high-intensity lights, the report added. If high-intensity lights were used, it suggested keeping use to a minimum and away from windows.
