Virgin Atlantic A330 returns to Manchester after declaring emergency
A Virgin Atlantic Airbus A330 bound for New York returned to Manchester shortly after departure on Friday after the crew declared an emergency. The airline has not said what the technical issue was.
A Virgin Atlantic flight bound for New York turned back to Manchester Airport shortly after departure after its crew declared an emergency. Flight VS127, an Airbus A330-300 registered G-VSXY, left Manchester at 14:55 BST for John F. Kennedy International Airport, a sector scheduled to take close to eight hours.
The aircraft departed from runway 23R and stopped its climb at 10,000 feet after what the airline describes only as an unspecified technical issue. The pilots declared an emergency to get priority handling from air traffic control.
It then descended to 7,000 feet and held northwest of Manchester, where the crew managed fuel and ran standard safety checks before lining up for landing.
Tracking data showed the jet back on runway 23R at 15:51 BST, about 41 minutes after takeoff. It vacated the runway and was met by emergency vehicles. Airport fire and rescue crews were expected to monitor the arrival, standard procedure for a declared emergency.
Virgin Atlantic has not detailed the precise nature of the technical issue.
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Sources
- airlive.netVirgin Atlantic flight VS127 to JFK is declaring an emergency after takeoff from Manchester