An Air New Zealand Boeing 747 turned back an hour into a flight from London to Los Angeles.
The plane turned around after the crew reported a series of loud bangs from one of its four engines and excessive engine temperatures.
The Boeing 747-700 plane with 358 passengers on board returned to Heathrow airport after the engine was shut down.
It was the carrier's third flight safety incident this month.
Earlier, the same plane lost a section of wing flap taking off from Auckland Airport, in an apparent part failure.
Another plane lost an unsecured wing panel in flight after an inspection failed to spot that the panel had only four screws instead of the required 125. The airline admitted human error.
The airline will investigate what caused the engine to overheat. A replacement engine had been found, and the aircraft was expected to return to service within a day.
PA