United Airlines flight 102 made an emergency landing at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, on March 6th.
The plane took off for Munich, Germany, but had to return shortly afterwards due to a bird strike.
The plane landed safely. All 184 passengers aboard remained unhurt.
Pictured: A Wizz Air Airbus A320-232
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Jan Menzl
What: Wizzair Ukraine Airbus A320-200 from Venice to Kiev
Where: Kiev, Ukraine
When: Dec 29th 2009
Who: 154 passengers and 6 crew
Why: On landing at Borispol Airport, the plane skidded off the runway.
Both engines incurred damage; however there were no injuries.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Mark McEwan
What: Easyjet Airbus A319-100 en route from London to Tallinn Estonia
Where: Copenhagen
When: Jan 11th 2010
Who: not available
Why: While en route, the flight developed a technical problem and decided to divert to Copenhagen. No details about the problem have been released. Replacement transportation was provided.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact Photographer Paul Spijkers
What: Qantas Airways Boeing 747-400
Where: emergency landing in Perth
When: Sep 2, 2009
Who: 290 passengers
Why: Four hours into the 7/12 hour flight, a fuel leak occurred. Engine 4, the source, was shut down as a consequence. 90 minutes after the leak was detected, the plane made a safe emergency landing in Perth. Last year an exploding oxygen tank blew a hole in this very plane; but there is no connection.
George’s Point of View
Last year an exploding oxygen tank blew a hole in this very plane; but there is no connection, except perhaps that Qantas crew was able to handle and contain the situation both times.
American Airlines flight 611 had to make an emergency landing at Piedmont Triad International (PTI) Airport in Greensboro, North Carolina, on March 12.
The flight, heading from Philadelphia to Atlanta, had to be diverted after a passenger Shaniqua Cherry, of Minnesota, went into labor mid-flight.
The plane landed uneventfully at PTI airport and Cherry gave birth to a baby girl.
The flight resumed and reached Atlanta safely.
A small plane crashed in Clark County, Indiana, on November 30th.
The plane took off from Clark Regional Airport, Indiana, and was heading to Chicago, Illinois, when it went down in a heavily wooded area.
There were three people aboard at the time; all of them were killed in the crash. The deceased were identified as Sandra Holland Johnson, 54, Andrew Davis, 32, and Louisville City FC soccer team founder Wayne Estopinal, 63.
British Airways flight BA-766 had to return and make an emergency landing at Heathrow Airport, England, on April 16th.
The Airbus A319-100 plane took off for Oslo, Norway, but had to turn back after the crew received indication of a nose gear shock absorber malfunction.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.