Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact Photographer Gerry Stegmeier
What: Bulgaria Air Boeing 737-300 en route from Varna Bulgaria to Moscow
Where: Varna Bulgaria
When: Sep 6th 2009
Who: 106 passengers
Why: Just after takeoff, the cockpit window cracked. The plane landed safely back at the airport about an hour after takeoff, at 4:30 pm. Passengers were provided an alternative flight.
Emirates flight EK-432 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Adelaide, Australia, on September 7th.
The Boeing 777-300 plane heading from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Brisbane, Australia, was diverted due to an engine issue.
The plane landed safely. There were 328 people aboard at the time; all of them remained unharmed.
Envoy Air flight MQ-3721 made an emergency landing in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on November 28th.
The plane took off for Chicago, Illinois, but had to return shortly afterwards due to a crack in a cabin window.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
A Shanghai-bound China Eastern Airlines flight made an uneventful emergency landing at Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport, after a bird collided with the pilot-side window.
Flight MU5666 took off from Xiamen at about 1:29pm on April 16. Shortly after the take off, the captain requested emergency landing due to a bird strike. The plane then returned and landed safely. None of the passengers or crew members were injured.
The ground attendants found the windshield to be severely damaged and splattered with blood and feathers. China Eastern Airlines has confirmed the incident, and commended their crew for calmly handling the situation.
According to airport authorities, passengers were taken to their destination on another plane.
Ryanair flight FR-5086 had to reject takeoff at Paphos International Airport, Paphos, Cyprus, on July 3rd.
The Boeing 737-800 was accelerating to takeoff for Krakow, Poland, when one of its engines ingested a bird.
The plane taxied to the apron safely.
The passengers were accommodated in a replacement plane.
A Boeing 747-400 cargo plane crashed in a village near Manas International Airport, Kyrgyzstan, on January 16th.
The ACT Airlines plane was scheduled to land at the airport when it went down in the village of Dacha-Suu.
At least 32 people were killed in the crash, including 4 crew members and 28 people on the ground. Several others were injured.
At least 15 homes were destroyed in the incident.
The plane had departed from Hong Kong, China, and was scheduled to fly to Istanbul, Turkey, after a stopover in Kyrgyzstan.
Easyjet flight U2-5224 made an emergency landing in Toulouse, France, on April 16th.
The plane, en-route from Valencia, Spain, to London Gatwick Airport, England, had to be diverted after a strange odor in the cabin made two flight attendants sick.
The plane landed safely. All 159 people aboard remained unhurt.
The flight attendants were given medical assistance upon landing.
