Air Canada flight AC-16 had to divert and make an emergency landing at Narita International Airport, Narita, Japan, on May 6th.
The Boeing 777-200, en-route from Hong Kong, China, to Toronto, Canada, was mid air when the crew reported smell of smoke in the cockpit, prompting the plane to divert.
The plane landed uneventfully.
All 297 people onboard remained unharmed.
A light aircraft crashed shortly after taking off from Malta International Airport, Malta, on October 24th.
The Fairchild Metroliner was carrying military officers on a surveillance mission on behalf of the French government, at the time.
All 5 people including 3 officials and 2 crew members were killed in the crash.
The crash remains under investigation.
On March 23, 2013, an American Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-83 Newark-Dallas flight diverted to Dulles when the first officer got sick.
There were 141 passengers aboard American Airlines 1589, who disembarked in Dulles and boarded another flight at 2:00 pm.
The first officer was hospitalized.
Germania flight ST-4926 had to return and make an emergency landing in Berlin, Germany, on April 29th.
The Boeing 737-700 plane took off for Las Palmas, Spain, but had to turn back due to an engine issue.
The plane landed safely. All one hundred and twenty passengers and five crew members remained unharmed.
A Middle East Airlines flight had to divert and make an emergency landing in Istanbul, Turkey, on January 11th.
The plane heading from Beirut, Lebanon, to London, United Kingdom, was diverted after a violent fight broke out between two passengers.
The crew were able to separate the two passengers before the plane landed safely.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Gilbert Hechema
What: First Air Boeing 737-210C en route from Yellow Knife to Resolute
Where: near Resolute Airport, Nunavut, Canada
When: August 20, 2011
Who: 4 crew, 11 passengers, 12 fatalities
Why: On approach to Resolute Bay Airport, the plane impacted the hillside. The wreckage was found five miles from the airport.
Three survivors were recovered. There were twelve fatalities, including the entire crew. Two survivors (a seven year old and a 48 year old) were taken to Ottawa hospital, and the third (a 23 year old woman) is reported to be stable at Qikiqtani General Hospital in Iqaluit where all of the survivors were originally taken. Two forensic teams are on the scene (one to identify the bodies, and one for accident investigation), and the black boxes have been recovered.
The weather at the time of the crash was he weather was rainy with a low cloud ceiling, and reported to be patchy fog. A mock rescue military exercise was going on with 700 military personnel when the crash was reported. They responded to the crash with helicopters and medical personnel. Eleven RCMP personnel were also part of the rescue unit. The senior administrative officer, Ralph Alexander, said it wasn’t foggy enough in Resolute at the time of the crash to have caused the accident, and that planes landed there in worse visibility. However there have been reports of locals hearing the impact but not seeing anything because of dense fog. The charred wreckage is in three parts with smaller plane parts and remains scattered.
The crash site is less than two kilometres west of Resolute, a small tight-knit community with many individuals directly affected by the twelve fatalities.
The passenger manifest has not yet been made public but the owner of South Camp Inn, Aziz (Ozzie) Kheraj, reportedly lost a granddaughter on the crash, and one survived.
First Air held a news conference at in Kanata, Ontario on Sunday at 11 a.m. ET.
Transport Canada issued the following release:
At approximately 12:30 EST, First Air Flight 6560 from Yellowknife to Resolute Bay crashed on approach to Resolute Bay. There were 15 passengers on board. At this time, 12 people are thought to be dead and three injured. Our thoughts go out to those affected by this tragic accident.
Transport Canada has appointed a Minister’s Observer, who will keep TC informed of the investigation’s progress. We will cooperate fully with the Transportation Safety Board who is currently on site investigating this accident.
The Canadian Armed Forces are in Resolute Bay for Exercise Operation Nanook 2011 and are responding in support of emergency operations to the situation.
Contacts:
Media Relations
Transport Canada, Ottawa
613-993-0055
First Air published this:
On Sunday August 21, 2011, First Air Vice President of Marketing and Sales, Chris Ferris, made the following statement to the media from the First Air Head Office in Kanata:
As you are aware, yesterday at 12:40pm First Air experienced a tragic loss of
charter flight 6560. We are deeply saddened by this tragedy and offer our sincere condolences to the families.
The details we have at this time are as follows: a First Air Boeing 737-200 combi travelling from Yellowknife to Resolute Bay, went down 5 miles from the airport. The flight was carrying 11 passengers and four crew. There were 12 fatalities including all four crew members.
Our first priority has been contacting and looking after the families of passengers and crew. Out of respect for the passengers, our crew, and their families, we are not releasing any names or passenger details.
The three injured passengers were Medivac’d to Iqaluit for further treatment last evening. Two of the three passengers have since been moved to Ottawa, while the third remains in Iqaluit in stable condition.
At this time the cause of the accident is unknown. The Transportation Safety Board is conducting their investigation and First Air is cooperating fully.
Our thoughts and focus are with the families and friends of the passengers and crew; and the community of Resolute Bay. Field teams including counsellors, have been deployed to provide support in Resolute Bay, Yellowknife and other main stations in our network.
We would like to thank the Canadian Military whose on-site presence and immediate response was instrumental in the rescue efforts.
We will be providing further updates as they become available.
Loganair flight LM-390 had to return and make an emergency landing in Kirkwall, Scotland, on January 16th.
The plane took off for Edinburgh, Scotland, but had to turn back after one of the engines failed.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
