London - Terrified passengers wept as their packed jumbo jet was forced to make an emergency landing at Gatwick on Monday.
The Virgin Atlantic flight to the US turned back minutes after take-off when the crew discovered one of its five sets of wheels was locked in the up position, meaning it could not land normally.
It circled for more than three hours and dumped most of its fuel before, with the 447 passengers in the brace position, the pilot landed the Boeing 747 safely as emergency services stood by.
The passengers and 15 crew were evacuated safely but Gatwick was closed for several hours, disrupting about 10 000 travellers, while the stricken jet – left tilted on the runway – was moved.
Those on board told of their terror during the ordeal but praised the pilot as a hero. One passenger said it was “one of the greatest emergency landings in history”. Flight VS43 had taken off from Gatwick at 11.44am bound for Las Vegas.
But some 30 minutes into the 5 200-mile flight, over Devon, the fault in the 13-year-old plane’s undercarriage was discovered.
The Boeing 747-400, named Barbarella, circled the Bristol Channel to dump some of the fuel stored in its wings before turning back. The pilot manoeuvred the jet in attempts to shake the faulty wheels free, then flew low over Gatwick so experts on the ground could assess the damage.
Virgin announced that the plane would be carrying out a “non-standard landing procedure”. The drama unfolded live on TV and online as the jet was seen circling over Gatwick and the Sussex coast as it burned off more fuel.
The airport was closed to other flights and finally at 3.45pm the captain began the emergency landing. Passengers, many weeping, were ordered to put their head between their knees in the brace position.
Moments later, there was a cloud of sparks and smoke as part of the undercarriage scraped along the runway and the plane came safely to a halt. Passengers told of an “eruption of relief” as they were evacuated. They were taken to a hotel and are due to continue their journey today.
David Gillespie, 28, and new wife Sandra, from Belfast, were flying to Las Vegas for their honeymoon. Mrs Gillespie, 27, praised the pilot and cabin crew for keeping everyone calm.
“I was terrified. I just thought ‘I don’t know if we going to get out of this alive’,” she said. “It was very scary. I’m so glad to be back, we’re very relieved.”
Holly Jackson told Sky News: “We were told we would have to get into the brace position and it was then that everybody did start to get scared. The captain did amazingly. You would not have even known there was something wrong with the plane.”
Mike Kaufman said: “The crew were calm and that made us calm. The landing was smoother than others I’ve had. It was probably less dramatic on board than it was watching it on TV.
“It is going to go down as one of the greatest emergency landings in history. Everybody gave the crew a big round of applause when we landed. We were talking about going on a rollercoaster ride when we got to Las Vegas. Now I’m not so sure.”
Hardeek Desai told BBC News: “A few passengers were a bit panicky. The captain came out to tell everyone that it was going to be OK. Generally the mood was pretty good, until we hit the brace position. Everyone more or less panicked.” He described an “eruption of relief” as the plane landed safely. “Everyone just started to clap and laugh.”
Other passengers thanked the flight crew on Twitter. One posted: “Top marks to Dave the pilot and all the excellent Virgin cabin crew for bringing us back to Earth safe and sound. #vs43.”
The airport, which reopened at 7pm, said there were a few “minor injuries”. Virgin Atlantic president Sir Richard Branson tweeted: “Well done @VirginAtlantic pilots & team for safe & skilful landing of VS43. Thoughts with passengers & crew, thanks for support & patience.”
Pilots’ organisation Balpa said: “Pilots train hard for exactly this kind of situation. It goes to show that well-trained pilots are vital.”
Daily Mail