Virgin Atlantic 024: The Nightmare Over Heathrow

On November 5, 1997, Virgin Atlantic Flight 024 took off from Los Angeles bound for London Heathrow. The Airbus A340-300, carrying 114 souls, encountered a hidden mechanical flaw that would transform a routine transatlantic flight into a global aviation headline. Just after takeoff, a delay in gear retraction hinted at trouble. Hours later, as the aircraft approached London, a landing gear malfunction triggered a full-scale emergency.

This video dives into the true story of Flight VS024—how a small, overlooked component, the torque rod pin, led to a blocked landing gear and a dramatic emergency landing at Heathrow. We explore the tense minutes leading to touchdown, the heroic decisions made by the crew, and the aftermath of an event that changed safety protocols for Airbus A340s worldwide.

Watch this detailed account of professionalism, quick thinking, and engineering vulnerability, and discover how a minor part nearly caused a major catastrophe. Virgin Atlantic Flight 024 remains a prime example of how human skill and calm under pressure can overcome technological failure.

#VirginAtlantic #FlightVS024 #AirbusA340 #AviationIncident #EmergencyLanding #Heathrow #PlaneStory #AirCrashInvestigation #AircraftFailure #FlightAnalysis #Mayday #FlightChannel

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Virgin Atlantic 024: The Nightmare Over Heathrow