Air Baltic flight BT-618 had to reject takeoff at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Amsterdam, Netherlands, on March 24th.
The Boeing 737-300, en-route Riga, Latvia was accelerating for takeoff when the crew reported an open door, prompting the pilots to reject takeoff.
The plane returned to the apron safely.
All passengers aboard remained unharmed.
Open Skies flight BA-8004 had to divert for an emergency landing at Shannon Airport, Ireland, on December 26th.
The Boeing 767-300 plane, operating on behalf of British Airways, was en-route from Newark, New Jersey, to Paris Orly Airport, France, when all the toilets failed.
The crew subsequently decided to divert to Shannon where the plane landed safely.
All 172 people aboard remained unharmed.
A Virgin Australia Airlines flight en route from Brisbane to Bali, Indonesia, was forced to make emergency landing after the flight crew reported an attempted hijacking by a passenger.
The Boeing 737-800 was approximately 180 nautical miles away from Denpasar International Airport (about 30 minutes before the scheduled landing time), when a 27 year old Australian passenger, Matt Christopher Lockley, started banging at the cockpit door and tried to break in. The flight crew hand-cuffed him, took him to the cabin crew area and sent a mayday signal to the control towers in Makassar and Denpasar, indicating a possible hijacking attempt. The Bali airport authorities then prepared for an emergency landing protocol for the flight VA41, which was carrying 139 passengers and 6 crew members.
According to a Transport ministry official Herry Bakti, the emergency signal was received at about 2pm local time. The authorities from Virgin Australia confirm that the pilot had sent the standard signal code for ‘unlawful interference’, after which standard emergency response protocols were adopted.
The plane made an uneventful emergency landing and the Bali Police Chief, Inspector Benny Mokalu confirms that none of the passengers or crew members were harmed. The Indonesian military troops arrested Lockley, after the plane touched the ground.
Matt Christopher Lockley hails from Queensland, Australia and holds a driving license and a plumbing industry council card. The cabin crew reported that he looked ‘unstable’ and ‘paranoid’ during the flight. Police officials said that he claimed that he was hammering the cockpit door because he wanted to take some medicines from his luggage.
Heru Sudjatmiko, Virgin Australia’s Bali manager maintains that a drunk passenger tried to enter the cockpit which forced the emergency landing of the plane. It was not a hijacking attempt, it was a ‘miscommunication’. “I repeat, this is just a miscommunication. How the miscommunication occurred, I cannot answer because I wasn’t there. But it’s not true to say that the plane was hijacked…. I don’t know exactly what happened when the pilot communicated with the air traffic controller at Ngurah Rai,” he said.
Lockey is being investigated by the local police and it is not clear what charges will be made against him.
Delta Airlines flight DL-72 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 29th.
The Airbus A330-300 plane heading from Atlanta, Georgia, to Amsterdam, Netherlands, was diverted after the crew noticed engine vibrations.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Hop! Airlines flight A5-3557 made an emergency landing in Strasbourg, France, on February 14th.
The plane was flying from Toulouse, France, when the captain declared an emergency, reporting that the first officer has become unconscious.
The plane continued for a safe landing. All 46 passengers aboard remained safe.
The first officer had regained consciousness before the landing. He was taken to hospital.
Brussels Airlines flight SN-3201 had to return and make an emergency landing at Brussels Airport, Zaventem, Belgium, on November 4.
The Airbus A319-100, en-route to Venice, Italy, had to return due to some issue with one of its engines. The crew had to shut the engine down mid-air.
The plane landed safely.
All 124 people aboard remained safe.
Yakutia Airlines flight R3-772 had to divert and make an emergency landing at Rostov-on-Don Airport, Russia, on July 22nd.
The Boeing 737-800 flying from Simferopol, Ukraine, to Moscow, Russia, had to divert due to smoke on board.
The plane landed safely.
All 170 people aboard remained safe.
