Flight VS43 to Las Vegas forced to return to Sussex airport due to technical issue with landing gear • Virgin Atlantic flight VS43: follow the latest developments - live

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

A Virgin Atlantic flight has landed safely at Gatwick after being forced to return when pilots identified a problem with the landing gear en route to Las Vegas.

The airport had emergency services on standby as a precaution after pilots on flight VS43 prepared to implement a “non-standard landing procedure”.

The plane left the Sussex airport at 11.44am for Las Vegas in the US, but turned around before it had left British airspace. It circled around the south coast and dumped fuel to minimise the risk of fire in a forced landing.

Gatwick did not anticipate that the landing would cause disruption. The aircraft did not immediately taxi away from the runway but was attended by fire engines and ground staff. There was no immediate evacuation.

The Virgin Atlantic jet’s malfunctioning wheels, top left. Photograph: Rex

Around 400 passengers were thought to be on board.

One passenger, Dan Crane, 24, from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, said some terrified passengers had cried and pleaded with the cabin crew for reassurance when they were told the aircraft had a problem with its landing gear.

“Some people were annoyed at first but then people were getting more scared and anxious. Cabin crew were assuring us that it was fine but I was thinking: ‘How can you land a plane without some of its wheels?’” he said.

Speaking of the moment the plane landed, Crane added: “We all had to go into breach. The cabin crew were shouting ‘head down, feet back’ constantly, but when it landed everyone was clapping and cheering.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Image taken from the FlightRadar app showing the route of the plane (coloured red). Photograph: FlightRadar/PA

Crane, who was going to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas with friends and family, said the incident did not put him off flying but nor did it inspire confidence. “It hasn’t worried me for the future but it has been a reality check,” he said.

The return of a plane to an airport due to problems with landing gear is not unusual.

Pilots are trained to land and cope with such failures, but staff say any non-standard landing has the potential to become serious.

The jet had been flying at a relatively low altitude and witnesses reported that the pilot appeared to be trying to shake the landing gear down after one of the five on the Boeing 747 jumbo jet had failed to deploy.

Virgin said: “Virgin Atlantic can confirm that flight VS43 on 29 December, travelling to McCarran international airport Las Vegas, returned to Gatwick due to a technical issue with one of the landing gears.”