British Airways flight from New York to London hits near supersonic speeds thanks to powerful jet stream

 

 (Picture: Jack Plunkett/AP Images for British Airways)

The plane touched down in just five hours 16 minutes (Picture: Jack Plunkett/AP Images for British Airways)

A plane travelling from New York to London Heathrow touched down just shy of record time after it hit near supersonic speeds thanks to a powerhouse jet stream over the Atlantic.

British Airways Flight 114 took off from JFK at 10.50pm Eastern Standard Time (EST), and landed at 9.06am local time at London Heathrow.

The Boeing 777-200’s remarkably speedy journey clocked in at five hours and 16 minutes, well short of the estimated minimum six-hour journey time.

According to Flight Aware, a website which tracks plane locations, the aeroplane flew at speeds of 745mph relative to ground speed. To put that in context, the speed of sound at sea level is 761mph.

Those averse to long-haul flights should note that it is not unexpected for the jet stream to intensify during the winter months, with flight times in January and February between the US and the UK made shorter.

A number of flights are reported to have made the journey from the Big Apple to London yesterday in around five hours 20 minutes due to the 200mph North Atlantic jet stream.

 

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(Picture: Flight Aware)