American Airlines flight AA-740 had to return and make an emergency landing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 15th.
The Airbus A330-200 plane took off for Madrid, Spain, but had to return shortly afterwards after the crew reported that a panel door was open.
The plane landed safely. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
Jet2.com flight LS-189 had to return and make an emergency landing at Glasgow Airport, Glasgow, Scotland, on July 7th.
The Boeing 737-800 was en-route to Palma Mallorca, Spain, when the crew reported pitch control problem, prompting the plane to return.
The plane landed uneventfully. All people onboard remained unharmed.
The passengers were accommodated in a replacement plane.
Contact photographer Derek Heley
What: Dragon Aviation 1969 BAC 167 Strikemaster en route from Nashville, Tennessee, to an airport in Ghent, New York See more about the plane here
Where: near the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge, Hudson River, Kingston New York
When: Feb 26 2011 1:30 p.m.
Who: pilot Michael Faraldi
Why: The BAC 167 Strikemaster ex-military jet did a very low pass over the runway before crashing into the frozen Hudson River on approach to Kingston-Ulster Airport at about 1:30 p.m. Saturday near the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge. The body of 38-year-old Michael Faraldi was recovered 3 p.m. Sunday. Faraldi whose day job was podiatry was a general aviation pilot on his first transition into a high performance jet-fighter category aircraft.
A Bogota-bound Viva Colombia flight had to return and make an emergency landing at Matecana International Airport in Pereira, Western Colombia, on September 14.
The decision for emergency landing was made after a bird hit one of the turbines of the passenger plane during take-off.
The plane landed safely and none of 147 passengers aboard was hurt.
What: Tiara Air Aruba Shorts 360-100 en route from Las Piedras Venezuela to Aruba
Where: Las Piedras
When: Dec 5th 2011
Who: 29 passengers, 4 crew
Why: Taking off from Las Piedras, the plane struck a donkey with its right main gear.
Pilots continued on to Aruba where they made a safe landing.
There were no injuries. Apparently the forecast for repair is better in Aruba than Las Piedras.
Actually, that’s one thing I never thought I’d need to say
Air Transat flight TS-436 had to return and make an emergency landing in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on March 18th.
The Airbus A330-300 took off for Cancun, Mexico, but had to return shortly afterwards due to an indication of low hydraulic quantity.
The plane landed uneventfully. There were 366 passengers and 12 crew members aboard at the time; all of them remained safe.
The airline arranged a replacement plane for the passengers.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Richard Vandervord
What: Sunexpress Boeing 737-800 en route from Antalya Turkey to Aarhus Denmark
Where: Antalya
When: July 14 2011
Who: 180 passengers
Why: While en route, the plane developed vibration.
The crew returned to Anatalya and made a safe landing. The issue was reported by official spokesmen as being a hydraulic problem (hydraulic pump failure), although a hydraulic problems would not cause vibration.
Passengers were provided an alternative flight.