On Mar 27th 2026, an Air Canada Boeing 737-8 MAX, registration C-FSDW, operating flight AC-869 from London Heathrow Airport to Halifax Stanfield International Airport, was forced to abandon its transatlantic journey after encountering issues with its flight management systems while cruising over the eastern Atlantic.
The aircraft had reached FL360 and was approximately 170 nautical miles west of Shannon when the crew requested to enter a holding pattern before proceeding into Oceanic Airspace. Air Traffic Control cleared the aircraft to hold at its present position, but shortly thereafter the pilots requested radar vectors to properly establish the hold, advising they were experiencing problems with their Flight Management Computers.
The jet remained in a holding pattern for about 20 minutes under radar guidance before the crew made the decision to return to London Heathrow. As part of standard procedures for a heavy aircraft returning shortly after departure, the crew requested a descent to FL250 to burn off excess fuel, later descending further and entering another holding pattern south of London for approximately 30 minutes.
After about 3.5 hours in the air, the aircraft landed safely on runway 27R at Heathrow without further incident. No injuries were reported.
As a result of the technical issue, both the scheduled flight to Halifax and the onward connection, flight AC-611 to Toronto Pearson International Airport, were cancelled. The aircraft remained grounded in London for several hours following the return as technical teams assessed the issue with the onboard systems.
