Jordan Mansfield/Getty ImagesA view of the damaged landing gear.
A Virgin Atlantic flight from London's Gatwick airport bound for Las Vegas was forced to make what the BBC termed a "non-standard" landing, echoing a Virgin spokesperson, after one of its landing gear malfunctioned.
The Boeing 747 landed safely after circling for some time to burn off fuel.
Numerous photos of flight VS43 appeared on Twitter. For example:
Virgin plane #VS43 lands safely at Gatwick airport http://t.co/5VkDatFdyz pic.twitter.com/gu4UWWQNgI
- Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) December 29, 2014
Landing gear problems are uncommon for major commercial airliners, but not unheard of.
However, AskThePilot.com blogger and Business Insider contributor Patrick Smith, a professional pilot, has noted that gear malfunctions are well down the list of pilots' nightmare scenarios.
Jordan Mansfield/Getty ImagesThe 747 made it down safely.