Flybe flight BE-7049 had to return and make a precautionary landing at Birmingham Airport, Birmingham, England, on December 21st.
The de Havilland Dash 8-400 was en-route to Dusseldorf, Germany, when the crew reported that there was a problem with one of the doors.
The plane landed safely. Everyone onboard remained unharmed.
The passengers were rebooked onto other flights.
Southwest Airlines flight 541 had to return and make an emergency landing at Denver International Airport, Colorado, on the night of October 16.
The plane, heading towards Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, Washington, had to turn around after an electrical smell emerged in the cabin.
The plane landed safely.
All 143 passengers remained unhurt. The passengers were accommodated in another flight.
WestJet flight 610 had to make an emergency landing in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, on September 3rd.
The plane heading from Calgary to Ottawa, Canada, was diverted after the crew reported smoke in the flight deck.
The plane landed safely. Everyone aboard remained unhurt.
Kuwait Airways flight KU-619 had to return and make an emergency landing in Kuwait City, Kuwait, on December 28th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane took off for Doha, Qatar, but had to turn back due to a cargo smoke indication.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact Photographer Tim Perkins
What: Southwest Airlines 737 en route from Nashville to Baltimore
Where: Charleston’s Yeager Airport
When: 6:30 p.m Monday July 13
Who: 126 passengers and five crew
Why: While en route, the cabin depressurized when a hole (metal fatigue?) approximately the size of a football appeared in the fuselage. The plane managed to land safely in Charleston West Virginia. The NTSB is investigating.
(News photos don’t look football sized, but it is sure big enough to see plenty of daylight through.)
George’s Point of View
The 737 is a true workhorse, built to land and takeoff almost without too much delay except to load and unload passengers.
I fly Southwest to Las Vegas all the time. It’s a short hop.
I must admit, that every time I fly in one of these planes I have begun to worry about the age and/or the fatigue of the structure. A trip like one from LA to Vegas, most times, is a beating on the passengers and the plane itself. My guess is that 4 out of 5 of these short trips encounter turbulence, sometimes bad turbulence. This beats up the plane. In this case, the plane being beaten up was manufactured in 1994. That’s a lot of years of turbulence abuse. Metal fatigue in these conditions is not surprising, and neither is it completely unexpected. An inspection on this plane last January revealed eight cracks in the frame that required repairs.
I’m just glad it was a BOEING, and that the pilot remained in control of the aircraft. And of course, it’s a good thing that Southwest is now inspecting all of their planes for fatigue. Last year Southwest was fined $7.5 million for overdue inspections. I hope this is not going to be a repeat of last year. All the timely inspections in the world aren’t going to make this plane any younger. Maybe it’s time to put this particular plane out to pasture.
A Sirius Aero plane made an emergency landing in Ust-Kut, Russia, on September 7th.
The plane was flying from Krasnoyarsk, Russia, when the crew needed to shut down one of the engines.
The plane landed safely. All forty-six passengers and five crew members remained unharmed.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer K.L.Yim
What: Far Eastern Air Transport McDonnell Douglas MD-82 en route from Taipei to Makung
Where: Makung
When: May 16th 2012, 10:45am
Who: 165 aboard
Why: On landing in Making in rain and wind, the plane exceeded a stop line on the runway which was abbreviated due to construction. Minimal damage occurred to the plane but runway lights were damaged.
Although a Taipei news report calls into question the pilot’s braking, the weather and the fact that the runway was shortened due to construction should be mentioned.
The Aviation Safety Council has begun an investigation into the incident.
