Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Tomasz Zylowski
What: BMI Airbus A330-200 en route from Jeddah to Riyadh
Where: Riyadh
When: Sep 13th 201
Who: 84 passengers
Why: On approach to Riyadh, the plane suffered a bird strike which damaged the nose of the plane. The pilot managed a safe landing, but subsequently, the vehicle was consigned to maintenance for repairs.
Republic Airways flight YX-4411 made an emergency landing at Washington Dulles International Airport, Virginia, on April 26th.
The Embraer ERJ-175 plane heading from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Virginia, to Fort Myers, Florida, was diverted after the crew reported a bird strike.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer John Tiplady
What: Jetblue Airbus A320-200 en route from Sacramento CA to New York
Where: New York
When: May 17th 2010
Why: After landing at JFK, while taxiing on the runway, the plane encountered a bird (or flock of birds) sustaining minor damage.
Lufthansa flight LH-474 made an emergency landing in Munich, Germany, on February 24th.
The Airbus A330-300 plane took off for Montreal, Canada, but had to turn back due to issues with the IRS systems.
The plane landed back safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
What: GoAir Airbus A-320 flight from Mumbai–a new plane delivered in November 2007
Where: Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport
When: Thursday evening at 1648 hours (around 5 pm.)
Who: Undetermined number of passengers on board. (From 114 to 223 passengers were reported to us.)
Why: After Air Traffic Control visually verified the nosewheel was stuck, the Airbus landed safely. There was significant drama on board, however, as passengers in the front eleven rows of the plane were directed to move toward the back prior to the landing. Credit for the safe landing was given to Captain Hardeep Singh. All air traffic was put on hold untill the Airbus plane had made a safe landing.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact Baires Aviation Photography
What: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 en route from Oakland,CA to Vegas
Where: Oakland International Airport
When: Thursday August 20
Who: male passenger
Why: While en route to Vegas, a male passenger apparently accosted a female passenger. He exposed himself, and hit a female passenger, at which time flight attendants became involved. By the time the passenger was arrested, he was naked. The male passenger was taken by Oakland police; the female passenger was taken to an Oakland hospital.
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Contact photographer Michael Priesch
What: Austrian Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from Vienna Austria to Washington DC
Where: Vienna
When: May 27th 2011
Why: After takeoff, the gear would not retract.
The pilot returned to make a safe landing in Vienna; repairs were made and the flight left again less than an hour later.
Anonymous Expert Opinion
One common occurrence in Commercial Aviation is when a maintenance person forgets to remove the Landing Gear Safety Pin that is connected before starting the push back procedure during the aircraft start-up. It happens that that pin prevents the hydraulic system to actuate the nose gear allowing the tractor to freely steer the aircraft free from the gate. However that pin also locks the landing gear in the “down” position preventing the hydraulic system to retract in when commanded by the pilots. The result is that the aircraft is prevented from retracting its landing gear (one pin prevents them all) and returning is mandatory.
If the airplane is engaged in an intercontinental flight (thus carrying a huge amount of fuel) the crew invariably must dump a great amount of fuel in order to reduce the weight to within the manufacturer’s certified maximum landing weight in order to perform a safe landing. After dumping the fuel as the aircraft’s weight reaches its maximum allowed for landing the crew land the airplane. Unfortunately it causes delays and it is a nuisance, although not a harmful one. The worst part is for the maintenance crew whom was responsible for the tow out procedure to explain to his (or hers) superiors the quite expensive forgetfulness.
