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.
Southwest Airlines flight WN-50 had to divert and make an emergency landing at Mid Continent Airport in Wichita, Kansas, on April 10th.
The Boeing 737-300 was en-route from Dallas, Texas, to Kansas City, Missouri, when the crew reported loss of cabin pressure and requested an emergency landing.
The plane landed safely. All 143 passengers and 5 crew members remained unhurt.
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Contact photographer Mark Kwiatkowski
What: British Airways Boeing 747-40 en route from Lagos Nigeria to London
Where: Tamanrasset Algeria
When: Feb 27th 2011
Who: 301 passengers, 16 crewmembers
Why: While en route, the plane developed engine trouble with an air bleed valve.
The crew shut down an engine and diverted to Tamanrasset Algeria where they made a safe landing.
A maintenance crew was dispatched to Tamanrasset. The replacement jet and the repaired plane were both in London less than 24 hours later.
Delta Airlines flight 312 had to make an emergency landing at Toledo Express Airport, Ohio, on the night of December 4.
The pilot declared an emergency after a smoky odor was detected in the aircraft’s cabin. The flight was heading from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Michigan to Fort Lauderdale, Florida at the time.
The Boeing 757-300 landed without incident and was able to taxi to the gate on its own power. No one aboard was injured.
The plane was taken for examination while the passengers were transferred to another aircraft.
This is the sad story of Marwoto Komar, a pilot with 22 years of flight experience.
In March 2007, he piloted a Boeing 737-400 with 140 passengers on board which crashed on landing at the Yogyakarta airport. The plane came in for landing too high and too fast, and although the co-pilot called for a go-around, he landed on that pass anyway. The Boeing overran the runway and caught fire. Twenty-one people died in that crash.
The* IFALPA position is that criminalisation of individuals does not improve air safety.
In July 2008 he was arrested, tried and found guilty of negligence.
An Indonesian court sentenced Komar to two years imprisonment for his role in the crash.
* International Federation of Air Line Pilots Associations
George’s Point of View
You make a mistake.
People get killed.
You go to jail.
Southwest Airlines flight WN-2803 had to return and make an emergency landing in Columbus, Ohio, on August 26th.
The Boeing 737-700 plane took off for Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but had to return shortly afterwards due to a damaged tire.
The plane landed safely. All one hundred and twenty-seven people aboard remained unharmed.
Lufthansa flight LH-511D had to divert for an unscheduled landing at Milan–Malpensa Airport, Italy, on March 18th.
The Boeing 747-400 plane en-route from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Frankfurt, Germany, was diverted due to an issue with the de-icing systems.
The plane landed safely. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.