Virgin Atlantic VS21: Heathrow emergency landing for Airbus A340 after 'smashed window'

Virgin Atlantic flight VS21 has been forced to do a U-turn over the coast of Wales after reportedly suffering a broken windscreen shortly after it took off from Heathrow Airport for Washington. The Airbus A340 was flying over the St George's Channel when it made the dramatic swoop back towards UK shores.

The aircraft circled over Dorking and Leatherhead in Surrey prior to landing at Heathrow shortly before 1.30pm. Virgin Atlantic said in a statement: "Our London Heathrow to Washington flight (VS021) has returned to Heathrow due to a minor technical issue. To ensure our customers are able to continue their journey as soon as possible we will be moving them onto another dedicated aircraft which is due to depart later today. The aircraft returned as a precautionary measure, however, the safety of our customers and crew will always be our priority and we would like to apologise for the delay and any inconvenience caused."