Ryanair flight FR-5464 had to divert and make an emergency landing at Brussels Airport, Brussels, Belgium, on February 27.
The Boeing 737-800, en-route from Madrid, Spain, to Brussels, Belgium, was on approach to Charleroi Airport when the crew detected asymmetry in the flaps, deciding to divert to Brussels Airport.
The plane landed safely.
All passengers and crew members aboard remained unhurt.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Joey Collura
What: United Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Washington to Denver
Where: 157 passengers and 6 crew
When: 7 pm
Who: 157 passengers and 6 crew members;
The individual who was detained is Mohammed al Modadi, a diplomat in the Qatar embassy in Washington, D.C.
Why: When an on board air marshal smelled smoke, he confronted the passenger in the first class bathroom. Mohammed al Modadi, who was apparently sneaking a smoke in the bathroom, declared diplomatic immunity and made a sarcastic declaration regarding Richard Reid.
Modadi was escorted to his seat and rode the rest of the flight flanked by two air marshals.
Two F-16 fighter jets escorted the flight the last 40 miles to Denver where Modadi was taken into custody.
No explosives were found.
In this case, it requires looking closely at the actions. Some logical points are given:
1. Smoking is not allowed.
2. The air marshals were doing their job.
3. There is a time and place for everything. Standing in a plane’s bathroom after smoking a cigarette in a world where real people are really trying to blow up planes is not the place to make a shoe-bomb joke to a nervous air marshal. Even if one is a diplomat. Especially if one is a diplomat.
4. Diplomats are generally expected to smooth over or prevent international incidents, not cause them. (On the other hand, what exactly is Modadi’s job description, and exactly what is he supposed to do?)
5. This time the plane did not blow up.
Anything beyond this is speculation. I am sure the aviation lawyers and the aviation lawmakers will be hotly discussing this event, to see exactly how diplomatic status will affect policy, and playing the “what if” game. What if Modadi was just testing to see what would happen? What if there’s another diplomat biding his time for when we lower our guard, waiting to do this for real?
Whether a diplomat is a political officer to advocate for Qatar interests, a trade officer to advocate for Qatar interests, or a consular officer providing services for Qatar travelers, one can reasonably expect that Modadi’s agenda for today did not include deliberately getting caught sneaking a smoke in the United Airlines lavatory, nearly causing an international incident or providing puppet comedian Jeff Dunham grist for his “Achmed the dead terrorist” character for the next ten years. If Modadi has enough character and charm to jockey his ten minutes of fame into something more, we just may even see him as the new face of the nicotine patch or some other smoking cessation method or remedy.
On the other hand, we can not forget that there are people out there who wait for us to drop our guard so the next suicidal bomber can make his vicious mark.
Sita Air flight ST-605 had to divert and make an emergency landing at Phaplu Airport, Dudhakunda, Nepal, on April 23rd.
The Dornier Do-228 flight from Kathmandu to Lukla, Nepal, had to divert due to bad weather.
The plane’s wing hit a wall during the landing.
All 14 passengers and 3 crew members remained safe.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Kris Mogford
What: Qantas Boeing 747-400 en route from Bangkok to London
Where: Bangkok
When: Apr 6th 2010
Who: 335 passengers
Why: After takeoff, engine four had an engine surge. The crew decided to return to Bangkok where they circled, dumped fuel and made a safe landing. Passengers were provided accommodations, and an alternative flight. There were no injuries.
This is the sixth Qantas incident this week.
United Airlines flight UA-801 made a safe landing at Austin–Bergstrom International Airport, Texas, on September 18th.
The Airbus A319-100 flying from Houston, Texas, was about to land when the crew reported an indication of engine fire.
The plane landed safely.
No injuries were reported.
Pictured: Hainan Airlines Boeing 737-84P
Click to view full size photo
Contact photographer Kevin Scott
What: Hainan Airlines Boeing 737-300, HU7871 en route from Xi’an, Shaanxi Province to Shenzhen in Guangdong Province
Where: landing at an airport in the island province of Hainan (extreme south of China)
When: 2009-03-05 19:21:09
Who: 112 passengers and a crew of six
Why: The crew reported a mechanical problem and requested an emergency landing. They turned off one engine, and landed. Reportedly, there were “problems with the throttle that might have led to an excessively fast landing.”
No injuries were reported.
China Southern Airlines flight CZ303 was forced to divert and make an emergency landing at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Netherlands, on the afternoon of August 3.
The Boeing Dreamliner, heading from Guangzhou, China, to Heathrow Airport, London, had to be diverted after it ran out of fuel mid-air.
The plane, with a capacity of boarding 335 passengers, landed uneventfully.
No injuries were reported.
