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Contact Photographer Ruud Brinks
What: Cathay Pacific Boeing 747-400 en route from Hong Kong China to Sapporo Japan
Where: Fukuoka
When: Jul 19th 2009
Who: 398 on board
Why: After smoke filled the cabin, the flight diverted to Fukuoka Japan. The smoke was attributed to an air conditioning leak which was repaired so that the flight was continued less than four hours later.
A small plane had to make an emergency landing in a farm field near Cedar Lake, Lake County, northwest Indiana, on September 11th.
The plane was headed to Griffith-Merrillville Airport, Indiana, when it had to divert.
Pilot, who was the only person aboard, remained unharmed.
The cause of the incident remains under investigation.
On January 21, 2012, a Southwest Airlines 737 with 76 passengers and five crew aboard was en route from Kansas to Houston when it developed smoke in the cockpit.
Pilots diverted to Tulsa and made a safe landing (but probably hard and fast since reportedly three tires blew) with emergency services on standby at about 9:15 a.m.. No injuries were reported. Passengers were provided alternative transport to Houston.
The plane has been removed from service and will be inspected in Tulsa.
United Airlines flight UA-4104 made an emergency landing in Rochester, New York, on September 28th.
The plane heading from Chicago, Illinois, to Ottawa, Canada, was diverted due to flight control problems.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
American Airlines flight AA-1507 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Kansas City, Missouri, on August 8th.
The plane heading from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, to Tucson, Arizona, was diverted due to electrical issues.
The plane landed uneventfully. There were 130 people aboard at the time; all of them remained safe.
The airline arranged a replacement plane for the passengers.
Los Angeles – International approaching Sepulveda
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Sandro Mederle
What: Qantas Airbus A380-800 en route from Singapore to Sydney
Where: Sydney
When: Mar 31st 2010
Who: 244 passengers
Why: On landing, the plane blew its left tires; and there were sparks and and a brief fire from the brakes. The plane left a rubber trail. Damage assessment was made on the tarmac by engineers, with the plane sitting on its rims.
Qantas denies classifying this as an “emergency” landing.
I’m thinking how smart Boeing is to have held up release of their big jumbo, especially when I see A 380 incidents.
I am reminded of all the flaws that popped in the Airbus A310 (reputedly a rush copy of the Boeing 737); and I also remember reading about Airbus struggling to get the A-380 shipshape before Airbus rushed it to market. In development, Airbus wrestled with a plane that was severely overweight, withstructural, and production problems. Remember the trouble the A-380 had getting launched:
I can think of 3 other A380 incidents. Feb of this year, Air France A380-861 (F-HPJA) had fuel system issues that turned back a New York-Paris flight. A380 muss wegen Problemen mit Treibstoffsystem umkehren
On Dec 4 2009, QANTAS Airbus A380-842 (VH-OQA) Singapore to London- On the runway, the plane’s nose gear became unsteereable. The plane was towed to the gate and spare parts had to be flown in to deal with the problem.
On July 4 2009, Qantas Airbus A380-842 (VH-OQA) Singapore to London- the approach was aborted due to nosegear problems. On landing, steering failed.
In March of 2008, Qantas removed all 3 of its A-380s due to fuel system problems (two unserviceable with a ‘”fuel tank indication system problem”.)
The A380 is a part of the Air France, Emirates, Qantas and Singapore airlines fleets , and in which fuel gauge problems, nosegear problems and braking problems are becoming known issues. Problems also arise because the prohibitive size of the plane limits where it can land.
Some Worrisome Airbus History
In 2004, Joseph Mangan, an Airbus whistleblower told European aviation authorities of flaws on a computer chip on the Airbus A380. (These were microprocessor flaws that could cause the valves that maintain cabin pressure on the A380 to accidentally open during flight, allowing air to leak out so rapidly that everyone aboard could lose consciousness within seconds.)
Mangan was chief engineer for the Viennese company TTTech Computertechnik, which supplied the chips and software controlling the A380 cabin-pressurization system assembled at the French Airbus plant. TTTech fired Mangan, filed civil and criminal charges against him for revealing proprietary company documents. Austrian law has no whistleblower protection, and there is currently a gag order imposed on Mangan. They claim his allegations have been disproved.
What did he know? Have the problems behind his concerns been addressed? What else do we not know? Without transparency, how can we ever know?
Aegean Airlines flight A3-610 had to return and make an emergency landing in Athens, Greece, on October 2nd.
The Airbus A321-200 plane took off for Charles de Gaulle Airport, France, but had to return shortly afterwards after the crew reported issues with the gear.
The plane landed safely. Everyone aboard remained unhurt.
The airline arranged a replacement plane for the passengers.
