Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787 Returns To Heathrow With Ram Air Turbine Out

Simple Flying

By Justin Foster

Published 1 day ago

The airline returned to London Heathrow an hour after it departed the airport.

Photo: Joe Kunzler | Simple Flying

On January 27th, a Virgin Atlantic Dreamliner had to return to London Heathrow due to an inflight incident. The aircraft safely returned with its RAM Air Turbine in operation.
The Dreamliner, registered as G-VZIG, was scheduled for a flight from London to Seattle. It departed 15 minutes late and halted its climb at 23,000 feet to dump fuel before returning to London Heathrow.
The RAT system, a small engine that generates power from airflow, was deployed during the incident. It provides redundancy in the event of engine failure and has been used in emergency situations worldwide.