Virgin’s emergency landing was due to ‘triggered alarms’

News at Gatwick 23/04/2012

Hot air balloon disrupts Gatwick flights : April 2012 : Gatwick lounge named best worldwide

Virgin Atlantic has reported that the emergency landing last week at Gatwick was the result of triggered alarm systems.

The carrier’s statement late last week came just days after a Virgin Atlantic Airbus A330 was forced to make an emergency return just after departing Gatwick airport on Monday. Reports said 15 of the 304 passengers onboard flight VS27 were injured during touchdown, which some witnesses described as ‘jarring’.

However Virgin officials said that the incident was caused by several false alarms on the Orlando-bound jet and that aviation officials had already certified the aircraft as airworthy and that it would be returning to service immediately. A spokesman for the airline said that crewmembers had shown “positive action” in response to the situation in the effort of customer safety and that the investigation into the incident had been thorough but has now concluded.

The ordeal saw flights delayed at the south London airport for nearly two hours last Monday, as emergency officials worked to evacuate passengers and clear the runway.

Virgin issued a statement on Thursday apologising to all passengers on the flight as well as those who experienced flight disruptions as a result of the emergency landing.

Hot air balloon disrupts Gatwick flights : April 2012 : Gatwick lounge named best worldwide

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