A Virgin Atlantic jumbo jet has made a dramatic, but safe, landing at Gatwick airport after developing a landing-gear fault.
Flight VS43, bound for Las Vegas, touched back down at the West Sussex just before 4pm.
The Boeing 747 jumbo jet returned to Gatwick after developing problems with its landing gear.
Virgin said: "Virgin Atlantic can confirm that the plane has landed safely at Gatwick. Our priority now is to look after our passengers."
Ambulances and fire-and-rescue crews had been on standby as the plane circled the airport in the hours after it took off for America in late morning.
Before the successful landing, Virgin announced that the plane would be carrying out a "non-standard landing procedure" at Gatwick airport.
Television pictures showed the plane at a halt safely on the runway. There was apparently no need for an immediate response by emergency crews although within a few minutes the flashing lights of emergency vehicles could be seen close to the plane.
Pictures posted on Twitter of the aircraft circling Gatwick showed damage to the landing gear of the aircraft.
A dramatic photograph showed the jumbo jet landing at Gatwick with the right-side wing landing gear not deployed.
Describing the mood on the plane as it was circling, passenger Dan Crane, 24, from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, said it was "anxious, a lot were worried, some crying. The mood was quiet and (we were) just waiting for the captain's next announcement."
Mr Crane, who is with family and friends, said the crew kept everyone informed, adding: "They said it was an emergency landing and we had to brace on impact."
Passenger Mike Kaufman, speaking from his seat on the plane back at Gatwick, said: "This was one of the greatest emergency landings in history. It was very smooth."
He praised the pilots and the cabin crew, saying the landing had been "textbook".
Interviewed for Sky News, he went on: "We didn't realise there would be such a fuss. It was such a calm, experience. About half an hour out they said we would have to go back to Gatwick. They said it was a hydraulic problem.
"The fact everything went so well shows just how professional the flight crew were. The crew were calm. We had a safety briefing two hours before we landed and when we were told we would have to go into the brace position for landings a sigh went around the plane."
Mr Kaufman continued: "People got used to the idea that we were going to have to land back at Gatwick. The crew were very calm and that made the passengers calm."
Asked what was going through his mind, Mr Kaufman said: "People in the row with me were saying 'We want this over and done with'. We thought we'd be fine but you're never sure.
"Everybody gave the crew a big round of applause when we landed. I can't wait to get into the terminal and have a gin and tonic now
"We were talking about going on a rollercoaster ride when we got to Las Vegas. Now I'm not so sure."
A spokesman for British pilots' organisation Balpa said: "There appears to have been a technical problem with the landing gear but the pilot seems to have done a very professional job in getting the plane down safely.
"Pilots train hard for exactly this kind of situation. It goes to show that well-trained pilots are vital."
In November 1997 a Virgin Atlantic captain Tim Barnby won praise for safely landing a Virgin Atlantic Airbus plane at Heathrow after a landing-gear problem.
The plane, flying in from Los Angeles carrying 98 passengers and 16 crew, managed to touch down using three instead of four sets of landing gear.
Nine passengers were treated for minor injuries. Virgin said it had been "fantastic flying".
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