Top Gun 2 SET PHOTO: Filming HALTED mid-flight as Tom Cruise makes unscheduled landing

The 56-year-old action star has been shooting Top Gun 2: Maverick this month, but had to cut yesterday’s shoot short after mid-air flight issues.

According to TMZ, Cruise flew in a fighter jet with an F-18 pilot from an airbase in northern California.

The pilot acts as the actor’s double, while Cruise sits at the back of aircraft with cameras facing his point of view.

The two were snapped at an airbase in Nevada, having had to make an unscheduled landing after the jet saw a “flap caution” mid-air.

Apparently the issue is the equivalent of a check engine light which indicates a malfunction in a car.

Nevertheless Cruise and his companion soon flew back to California in another plane though.

The actor returns as Maverick in the highly anticipated Top Gun 2.

His character is now a flight instructor who will mentor Goose’s son.

Miles Teller play Bradley Bradshaw, the son of Goose, who died in the first film.

Last month it was revealed that Top Gun 2 will be delayed until 2020.

According to Deadline, Top Gun 2 needs the extra time to “allow the production to work out all the complex flight sequences so that the pic can be great.”

While another year’s wait may be an annoyance for fans, at least it sounds worth it to make sure the sequel isn’t a dud.

Top Gun 2 also sees the return of Val Kilmer’s Iceman.

The former Batman star announced the news via his official Facebook account earlier this summer.

Kilmer wrote on his official Facebook page: “I’m officially in the sequel to TOPGUN.”

Top Gun: Maverick will be released in UK cinemas on July 17, 2020.