United Airlines flight UA914 lands at London Heathrow after issuing emergency alert and diverting en route from Paris to Washington

United Airlines flight UA914 was forced to make an unscheduled landing at London Heathrow this afternoon, having been diverted from its original journey after issuing an emergency alert.

 

The flight, which was bound from Paris Charles de Galle to Washington Dulles International airport, issued a 7700 squawk around 1pm. There were more than 200 passengers and 10 crew on board. 

 

It is not yet clear what the cause of the emergency was, although reports are suggesting there was a problem with the air conditioning vents.

 

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It is thought the Boeing 767-322 plane may have had to dump some of its fuel before landing owing to the quick curtailment of what would have been a long-haul flight shortly after take-off. 

 

It set off from Paris at 12.24pm local time, and was due to land in Washington after 3pm.

 

United's press team did not respond to calls at the time of publication. However a Heathrow spokeswoman confirmed the plane had landed safely at 1:35pm.

 

A statement issued by United said: "Our maintenance team is currently inspecting the aircraft. We are making arrangements for our customers to complete their journeys. We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience caused."