Avianca Airlines flight O6-6304 had to return for an emergency landing in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on February 23rd.
The Airbus A320-200 plane took off for Recife, Brazil, but had to turn back after the crew reported smoke in the cockpit.
The plane landed uneventfully. All 156 people aboard remained safe.
The airline arranged a replacement plane for the passengers.
What: Air Canada Airbus A319-100 en route from Montreal,QC to Toronto,ON
Where: Montreal
When: Apr 14th 2009
Who: 117 on board
Why: As the plane was about to lift off, the rudder moved and the aircraft pivoted to the left. The crew completed the flight. Afterwards, maintenance in Toronto was informed and they replaced the yaw damper actuator and the #1 flight augmentation computer.
George’s Point of View
I question whether the crew should have continued on with this flight on board this plane before the maintenance repairs were completed. It is obvious that everyone survived and that is a good thing. But I wonder if the convenience of not stopping is worth either 1. the actual risk; 2. the perceived risk 3. passenger confidence.
As far as confidence in an airline goes, as for me, ask me any day and I’ll tell you, I’d prefer to be a little late to being a little dead. I think most passengers would agree.
If not stopping to perform repairs is Air Canada’s policy, then someone needs to rethink this policy, because the issue is not consumer confidence vs the bottom line. It is safety vs foolhardy cutting of corners.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Jeffrey Schäfer
What: Delta Airlines Airbus A330-300 en route from Paris to Atlanta
Where: Bangor
When: Apr 27th 2010
Who: 235 passengers and 8 crew
Why: While en route, Derek Stansberry of Apollo, Florida passed a note— “Forgive me, I f—ed up, I’m sorry”—to a flight attendant and muttered that he had explosives in his bag and claimed he had a false passport. (There were no explosives and no fake passport.)
Two federal air marshalls isolated Stansberry in the rear of the plane and insulated him with pillows and blankets in case of an explosion.
(As if that would do any good in case of an explosion! I’m sure the action marshals took was the protocol for such things, however, from a layperson’s position I’m wondering what do they think a blanket can do to muffle a bomb exploding in a plane at 20,000 feet? Keep you warm while you explode? It’s like hiding behind a thimble while being run over with a steamroller, isn’t it?)
The flight diverted to Bangor.
Stansberry, who remained in custody after the rest of the passengers flew on to their destination, is an Air Force veteran who had taken a valium and a sleeping pill prior to the flight.
Flybe flight BE-331 crash-landed at Belfast International Airport, Northern Ireland, on November 10th.
The plane was heading from George Best Belfast City Airport, Northern Ireland, to Inverness, Scotland, when the crew diverted to Belfast International Airport due to a gear problem.
The plane landed without nose gear.
One passenger was injured and was taken to a hospital.
Primera Air Nordic flight 6F-108 had to return and make an emergency landing in Alicante, Spain, on October 17th.
The Boeing 737-800 plane took off for Keflavik, Iceland, but had to return after the crew needed to shut down one of the engines.
The plane landed at higher than normal speed.
No injuries were reported.
What: plane en route Fort Collins, Colo., to Santa Fe
Where: 11 miles north of the Santa Fe Municipal Airport off Buckman Road near Canyon Diablo a few miles east of White Rock in an open area with a number of roads.
When: 4 p.m
Who: Two men from Greeley, Colo with minor injuries
Why: After the plane suffered engine failure, the pilot landed in the field…
Thomas Cook Airlines flight MT-2824 made an emergency landing in Manchester, England, on July 12th.
The Airbus A330-200 plane took off for Los Angeles, California, but had to turn back after the crew noticed smell of burning coming from an oven.
The plane landed back uneventfully. All passengers and crew members remained safe.