Las Vegas-bound Virgin Atlantic flight VS43 was forced to turn back to Gatwick airport after developing a technical fault in its undercarriage.
The aircraft, a Boeing 747 carrying over 500 people on board, departed Gatwick airport at 11:28am. Soon after, the crew detected the problem and decided to return to Gatwick. They circled the skies over the southeast coast of England to burn off fuel before attempting to land.
With emergency services on standby just in case, the plane landed safely at Gatwick at 15:45pm. The passengers disembarked normally, though the aircraft is believed to have been standing at a slight angle.
The runway at Gatwick remains closed, however, and some flights here have been affected.
Aer Lingus EI244 from Dublin to Gatwick (5pm) has been cancelled. Ryanair is reporting three hour delays on FR116 (Dublin-LGW, 15.50), and FR117 (LGW-Dublin, 17.10.)