A United Airlines jet to New York returned to Heathrow after reportedly suffering an engine failure mid-air.
The Boeing 767-300, which had 70 passengers and 11 crew on board, departed on its journey across the Atlantic towards Newark airport.
But 10 minutes after take-off, Flight UA147 performed a dramatic U-turn at more than 18,000ft and landed again in west London around 3.40pm on Wednesday.
The aircraft's transponder transmitted an emergency code at 3.55pm, according to aviation tracking website Flightradar24.
United confirmed in a flight status update for passengers that the plane had to make the emergency return due to a “technical issue” on the plane.
That turned out to be an engine failure, news site AviationSource reports.
Heathrow confirmed the aircraft landed safely and passengers safely disembarked.
In a statement, the Amercian carrier told the Standard: “United flight 147 returned to London Heathrow airport to address a potential mechanical issue.
“The flight landed safely and was subsequently cancelled.
“Customers were rebooked onto the next available flight to Newark, which has since departed.”
