Spirit Airlines flight NK-779 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Newark, New Jersey, on March 20th.
The Airbus A321-200 plane heading from LaGuardia Airport, New York, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was diverted after the crew noticed an odor on-board.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
The airline arranged a replacement plane for the passengers.
Myanmar National Airlines flight UB-313 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Dawei, Myanmar, on April 14th.
The plane heading from Yangon to Myeik, Myanmar, was diverted after the crew noticed an engine oil leak.
The plane landed safely. All sixty-nine passengers aboard remained unharmed.
A small plane crash-landed at Pensacola International Airport in Florida, on January 29th.
Authorities said the Cessna 177 plane sustained significant damage after it landed without its gear deployed.
There were two people aboard at the time; none of them was injured.
The cause of incident is being investigated.
Regional Express Airlines flight ZL-821 had to return for an emergency landing in Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia, on March 23rd.
The plane took off for Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, but had to turn back after its right hand engine failed.
The plane landed back safely. All 23 passengers and 3 crew members remained unharmed.
Alitalia flight AZ-608 had to return and make an emergency landing at Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, Italy, on April 10th.
The Boeing 777-200 plane took off for John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, but had to return shortly afterwards after the crew reported a hydraulic leak.
The plane landed back uneventfully. All passengers and crew members remained safe.
Pictured: A USA – Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III dropping off evacuees from Haiti
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Andre Klass
What: US C-17 en route from Skardu to Peshawar
Where: Benazir International Airport
When: Sept 17
Who: 176 passengers
Why: A US plane airlifting flood refugees from the northern city of Skardu was struck by an unidentified technical problem, and made an emergency landing. There were no injuries
What: United Airlines en route to San Francisco
Where: LAX
When: April 17, 2011
Why: After takeoff, the autopilot took control and would not relinquish it. The pilot had no control over the plane, but then was able to turn off autopilot and return to the airport.
The news release of this event does not mention the type of plane; but I am not surprised at first research that it appears to have been an Airbus A320. Fortunately, the pilot regained control, and there were no injuries. But this kind of problem with an airbus could have significance relating to all fly by wire aircraft, which have the capacity to lock out the pilot.
We need more information about this event. It should be published heavily, and we should be hearing some alerts and safety directives from Airbus.
