Thousands of travellers were delayed at the Gatwick airport after a dramatic emergency landing of Virgin Atlantic Flight VS43. Reports said that the plane had to make an emergency landing after the pilots detected a fault in the landing gear. The plane was due to land at Las Vegas but its passengers, mostly on holidays, will have to make amends on their vacation schedule after experiencing the heart stopping airplane drama.
The Boeing 747 was about to leave United Kingdom airspace when the pilots detected a problem with one of the landing gears. Apparently one of the five landing gears would not descend. Instead of continuing the flight to the US, the pilot decided to head back to Gatwick airport. The emergency landing procedure took almost two hours and involves dumping of fuel and circling around the Gatwick control tower twice in order for the air traffic controller to analyze the problem with the landing gear through a pair of binocular. The fuel dump was necessary in order for the plane to reach the required weight for landing. The pilot also attempted to execute what Virgin Atlantic called "non-standard landing procedure". This involves hours of circling in hopes that the planes movement could help shake the landing gear down. To cater the emergency landing procedure, the Gatwick runway was closed and incoming flights were all diverted to nearby alternative airports while other aircrafts waiting for departure were delayed thus delaying thousands of passengers.
After almost two hours of tension and drama, the Virgin Atlantic Flight VS43 has landed safely. Several eyewitness reports says that the plane was flying on a very low altitude and the plane appeared to be shaking, probably due to the pilot trying to shake the landing gear down. An airport official from Gatwick airport said on an official statement that all the 447 passengers and 15 crew members have safely disembarked the plane with some passenger suffering just minor injuries.
