Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Alevic
What: Lion Air Boeing 737-900 en route from Jakarta to Padang
Where: Padang Indonesia
When: Jan 19th 2010
Who: 60 passengers
Why: After landing in Padang, the plane’s right tires had mud on them from a runway excursion which destroyed a couple of runway lights. Passengers debarked normally.
Air Peace flight 4P-7191 had to return and make an emergency landing at Port Harcourt International Airport, Port Harcourt, Rivers, Nigeria, on March 12.
The Boeing 737-500, heading from Port Harcourt to Lagos, Nigeria, had just climbed out of the runway when the crew received a smoke detector indication, prompting the crew to return.
The plane landed uneventfully.
It turned out that the smoke indication alarm was false.
All passengers on board remained unhurt.
United Airlines flight UA-929 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, on July 12th.
The Boeing 767-300 plane, heading from London, United Kingdom, to Chicago, Illinois, was diverted due to a possible fuel issue.
The plane landed safely. There were 119 passengers and 11 crew members aboard at the time; all of them remained unharmed.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Fei Weng
What: American Airlines Boeing 737-800 en route from Washington DC to Dallas /Ft. Worth
Where: Dulles International Airpor
When: Nov 12th 2010
Why: After takeoff, a cargo fire alert convinced the pilots to divert to Dulles, where they made a safe landing; and passengers disembarked on to the tarmac. The passengers were transported to the terminal and provided alternative transportation. No actual fire was found.
Japan Airlines flight JL-431 had to reject takeoff from Tokyo International Airport, Japan, on September 27th.
The Boeing 737-800 plane was accelerating to takeoff for Matsuyama. Japan, when the crew rejected takeoff due to an engine issue.
The plane safely returned to the apron.
All one hundred and fifteen passengers and seven crew members remained safe.
British Airways flight BA-114 had to divert and make an emergency landing at Halifax Stanfield International Airport, Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada, on April 29th.
The Boeing 777-200, en-route to London, England, from New York, was mid-air when the crew detected burning odor in the cabin, prompting the plane to divert as a precaution.
The plane landed uneventfully.
All passengers onboard remained unharmed.
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.
