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Also thought it odd that they put a heavy 747 back on the ground in as little as 11 mins
Especially at such a busy airport... So no fuel dump ? Overweight landing ? For a suspected problem with a door handle ? Hmm...>>
11 minutes is not an unduly short period for the aircraft to return. The problem occurred soon after take-off and the aircraft was reported to have crossed Wimbledon prior to landing. That's an approximate track distance of 30 nautical miles. The aircraft would have been flying at a speed of 200 kts (+/-) so it would cover that distance in about 9 minutes. I do not know what happened on the day; I'm just saying that it would have been possible.
If a pilot of a heavy jet tells ATC soon after take-off that he has a problem and wants to return, even if he does not declare an emergency it's likely that ATC will afford him priority. It's no big deal, just leave a slot on final approach and space the following traffic accordingly.