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| Virgin Atlantic flight was forced to make an emergency landing at Gatwick found that engineers installed a part of the landing gear upside down (the part is circled behind the plane's flap) |
Captains Instructions,
'Hero' pilot David Williams ordered those onboard the transatlantic flight to adopt the brace position as he expertly guided the airliner into land following a frightening four-hour mid-air ordeal.
It has now been revealed that the plane's landing gear could not be properly deployed because the 'hydraulic retract actuator' - used to extend and retract the wheels - was 'incorrectly install
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| The plane's landing gear could not be properly deployed because the 'hydraulic retract actuator' (pictured) - used to extend and retract the wheels - was 'incorrectly installed'
The pilot also spent 15 minutes trying flight manoeuvres in an attempt to free the mechanism which was preventing the right wing landing gear from 'locking down'.
When this and a number of mechanical attempts to drop the wheels failed Mr Williams, who lives near Horsham, Sussex, carried out an impressive emergency touch-down on the broken landing gear, saving the lives of all those onboard.
The terrified passengers then spontaneously cheered and applauded in praise of the pilot after he landed the jumbo jet without a hitch.
In a video which emerged afterwards, the calm pilot was heard ordering passengers to brace for landing, saying over the speakers: 'Stay in the brace position until the aircraft stops completely'.
Moments of Truth,
Speaking about the frightening episode, passengers Dean Turner and wife Stacy told how they sent texts with their final goodbyes to relatives as the cabin crew shouted 'brace, brace'. They'd planned the holiday as a treat for their daughter who just had major spinal surgery.
Mrs Turner, of Haverigg, Cumbria, said: 'We text our final goodbyes on the plane to family saying we didn't know if we would survive. Me and my husband just looked at each other and thought "this is it". It was horrific.' Of the landing she said: 'He went extremely fast from one side to the other four or five times and that freaked people out.
'We knew he was going to do it but it was horrific. It didn't work so he told us he was going to put on full throttle and drop. It was like zero gravity.
Terrified passengers spontaneously cheered and applauded as Mr Williams carried out an impressive emergency touch-down on the broken landing gear (pictured), with sparks seen under the aircraft
Moments of Truth,
'It was so quick. It was like being on the world's worst roller coaster.
'People were being sick and people had nosebleeds. There were a lot of scared people. Ellie thought she was going to die. She was screaming on the plane.
Captains Instructions,
'The shaking didn't work so the pilot said he was going to have to burn fuel by flying round and round to make the plane lighter.
'He then told us we were going to do an emergency landing.
'At this point we were terrified. We had to get into the bracing position and the plane went deadly silent. They shouted "brace, brace brace" and then "head down, feet back" over and over again.
'But when we landed it was really smooth, just like any other flight and everybody cheered. The cabin crew and pilot were brilliant. I couldn't fault them.'
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) also praised the 'calm and professional manner' of the crew.
Revelation,
It later emerged that a 5kg piece of the plan, which guides the wheel past the landing gear door, had fallen off and was found in a field in Kent.
The AAIB recommended changes to the design of the Boeing aircraft's wing landing gear door mechanism. Investigators also suggested that its maintenance manual for ground crews be altered to make it clearer.
Source - The Daily Mail, UK
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