Virgin 747 makes emergency landing at Gatwick due to ‘technical fault’

A Virgin Atlantic plane made an emergency landing on the ground after a “non standard landing” at Gatwick Airport. The Boeing 747 jumbo had a “technical issue with one of the landing gears,” said a Virgin statement. The plane was in a holding pattern near Newhaven on the Sussex coast but is now back at the Sussex airport. Experts have told Sky News the flight may have been dumping fuel and photos appeared to show one of the sets of wheels not fully down.

Virgin Atlantic can confirm that flight VS43 on December 29, travelling to McCarran International Airport Las Vegas, returned to Gatwick due to a technical issue with one of the landing gears.

Virgin statement

Flight VS43 took off at 11:44 a.m. from Gatwick and was heading to Las Vegas. Twitter users reported seeing emergency vehicles heading for the West Sussex airport. Flight data appears to show the aircraft made it to the Bristol Channel area before turning back. Fire trucks are now beside the aircraft and Virgin say they are checking the plane before letting passengers get off.

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