A British Airways plane headed to Nairobi from London's Heathrow Airport was forced to dump fuel and turn back after encountering a technical hitch.
The Boeing 747 left Heathrow at 11.23 am and was scheduled to land at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) just before 8 pm UK time.
The plane's nose gear reportedly got stuck soon after take-off forcing the Captain to take the drastic action.
The nose gear or landing gear supports the plane when it is not flying, allowing it to take off, land, and taxi.
Dumping fuel helps make the plane lighter which is useful when attempting to land safely.
The fuel is dumped from a high-altitude allowing it to dissipate thus ensuring it does not reach the ground in liquid form.
The plane circled at around 8,000ft before heading back for the London terminal.
It flew above Canterbury for about 45 minutes before eventually returning to Heathrow and landing safely.
Onlookers had been puzzled by the low-flying plane which they spotted in the morning.
Online flight trackers suggested that after it stopped circling Canterbury, the plane began heading south-west over an area known as Ashford.
