A PLANE was forced to dump thousands of gallons of fuel in the English Channel before making an emergency landing at London Heathrow after the pilot was told one of the plane doors was left open.
Thai Airways flight TG917 left London at
Flight radars show how the concerned captain circled several above the English Channel while burning and dumping fuel before bringing the Boeing 777-300ER back to Heathrow to land.
The jet was forced to circle over the English Channel while it burned and dumped fuel to reduce weight so it could land safely. Aircraft engineers determined the warning was caused by a faulty sensor which was replaced allowing the plane to return to service
Shortly after leaving Heathrow, a warning light appeared, alerting the pilot that the cargo hold door was not shut securely.
According to the Boeing website, the aircraft can carry up to 47,890 gallons in its fuel tank, which can cost upwards of £60,000 to refuel based on current fuel prices.
Webcam footage from Airlivenet showed the plane as it landed back at Heathrow.
There were 344 passengers and 20 crew on board, who were taken off the flight while engineers battled to identify the problem.
Flight Lieutenant Pratana Patanasiri, Vice President Aviation Safety, Security and Standards Department, said that the plane was at 8000 feet before the incident when the light appeared.
He said: “The sensor for the cargo hold door look system showed an irregularity.
“Flight engineers took about two hours to check the whole aircraft. They found the notification light issue, there were no hazardous irregularities.
