What: A Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd. Boeing 737-700 en route from Sydney Nova Scotia to Coolangatta Australia
Where: Brisbane Airport Queensland
When: 2:30 p.m. local time May 26
Who: 109 passengers
Why: After departing, Airport crew at Sydney found parts of the Boeing’s nose wheel tire. The plane made a safe emergency landing in Brisbane. Passengers debarked; and the tire was replaced.
What: Oman Air Boeing 737-800 en route from Muscat to Chennai
Where: Mumbai
When: May 25, 2009
Who: 140 passengers
Why: When a passenger found a suspicious object and a letter which threatened to kill all the passengers aboard the flight, the crew requested an emergency landing.
Another source quoted: ‘a flight attendant had found a note in one of the lavatories saying “you will all die. Bye.”‘
The flight landed safely and the passengers were directed to another plane.
Contact photographer Frank Robitaille
What: Air Canada Boeing 767-300 en route from Montreal,QC to Toronto,ON (Canada)
Where: Ottawa- runway 23
When: May 21st 2009
Who: 88 people on board
Why: When the flight experienced engine failure, the pilot diverted to Ottawa and landed safely.
What: Flight AA956, American Airlines Boeing 767 en route from Ezeiza International of Buenos Aires to New York
Where: Buenos Aires
When: May 20 took off at 8:39 p.m and landed at 1:17
Who: 200 passengers
Why: The flight returned to Buenos Aires for an emergency landing due to a technical failure of the “defrosters.” The 767 anti-ice system is essential as the plane flies at 10,000 feet. No injuries were reported. The flight had to fly over De la Plata River to “*finish the fuel.”
There’s no indication if *finish in this context means dump (they did fly over a river) or use up. The term came verbatim from a Xinhua report–so we have a report that has gone from Spanish to Chinese to English and we do apologize if we lose details.
The flight has been rescheduled for Thursday.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Art Brett
What: United Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Baltimore MD to Chicago O’Hare,IL
Where: Runway 23 Right at Indianapolis International Airport
When: May 15, 7:15 am
Who: 140 people aboard.
Why: While en route to Chicago, the 757 cockpit filled with smoke and requested an emergency landing at Indianapolis.
As you can see in the silent digital recording above, the plane lands safely, although we do not see the passengers debarking.
What: Bulgaria Air Boeing 737-300 en route from Tel Aviv to the Bulgarian city of Burgas on the Black Sea.
Where: Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv
When: May 14
Who: 146 passengers
Why: When a crack was discovered in a window, the plane returned to Tel Aviv. There were no injuries. Passengers were provided replacement transportation.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Carlos De Oliveira
What: Air Austral Boeing 777-200 en route from Saint Denis to Dzaoudzi
Where: Saint Denis (2x)
When: May 8th 2009
Why: When there was a problem with the brakes, the plane returned to Saint Denis twice for repairs, before the flight was ultimately cancelled
George’s Point of View
Maintenance! Maintenance! Maintenance!
Contact photographer John Farmington
What: Delta Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from New York JFK,NY (USA) to Kiev (Ukraine)
Where: returned to New York
When: May 3rd 2009
Who: 212 on board
Why: The crew listed “operational reasons” but listed no details. They turned back over Moncton,NB and returned flying at lower altitude.
Contact photographer Wim Callaert
What: Delta Airlines Boeing 767-300 En route from New York JFK,NY (USA) to Rome Fiumicino
Where: Bangor,ME
When: May 4th 2009
Why: En route, the plane lost all air data computers and had lost most of the flight instruments, and requested to return to the airport of origin. Instead, they diverted to Bangor Maine. A replacement plane completed the flight. Fortunately, all that was suffered was a delay of nine hours.
George’s Point of View
This caught my eye mostly because two Boeings flying out of NY’s JFK were both listed as having “technical difficulties.” I wanted to doublecheck and see if they were the same plane.
Not the same plane.
The first incident with the undisclosed technical difficulty involved plane registration registration N182DN.
The second incident, the one with the data computer problem, involved plane registration N196DN.I find myself curious to discover what is coincidence and what is not. It may not be the same plane; but it is the same airline, the same model plane. Is it the same flight crew? Same procedures? What about the equipment? Is there something here to discover?
Contact photographer Kevin Gutt
What: Boeing-777-300 ER passenger jet owned by India’s JetWays en route from Delhi to London
Where: emergency landing at Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku Azerbaijan
When: May 2nd 2009
Who: 262 passengers and 15 crew
Why: A fire alert went off in the hold, indicating smoke some four hours into the flight. The plane diverted to Baku and passengers debarked. Apparently whatever the problem was was solved quickly, (false alarm) because the next day passengers apparently continued on their way on the same plane seven hours later.
What: United Airlines Boeing 777 en route from Munich to Washington
Where: Logan International Airport 1:46 p.m.-
When: 3:45 p.m
Who: 245 passengers and 14 crew members
Why: When a woman aboard this flight started to feel the flu, 244 passengers and 14 crew members had to go out of their way (at a cost of how many thousands?) and land en route so she be taken by ambulance to Massachusetts General Hospital.
George’s Point of View
The US was founded by stalwart pilgrims. Most of our ancestors came to these shores with pennies to their name. We’re formed of hardy peasant stock born of strong roots with nothing but our bodies and brains to make us what we are. We are the survivors of freezing winters, summers spent barefoot on farms, yellow fever, wars, drought, and more war and more drama. We are the spawn of mixed melting pots, and all the harsh trials that weed out the weak. We are sturdy stock.
We are the survivors of parents or grandparents who told us stories of trudging to and from school in shoulder-high snow walking uphill both ways.
(And they didn’t have antibiotics.)
So what would our stalwart predecessors say about this current terror of the flu?
I think they’d be a little embarrassed.
Maybe I’m a little concerned about our oldest, sickest and most vulnerable, but I won’t go into the swine flu brouhaha. I’m not a doctor. I would not wish to be any of those millions of swine flu victims in rural Mexico, with access only to rudimentary medical facilities. Because the oldest, the youngest, the sickest, the weakest are the most vulnerable.
But.
Let’s face it. The air in a plane is a closed system. It has always been a closed system. That air recirculates. Maybe planes will install uv light machines in their air systems to sterilize the air. In the meantime, we’re all breathing shared air in planes.
I’m proud that even in these tough economic times, United Airlines is so solvent that it can afford to spend thousands to divert planes when a solitary patient has the sniffles. But…maybe next time, they could spend the equivalent cost of the next “sneeze-diversion” on a couple warehouses full of surgical masks. So that next time we’re in a United Airlines plane, we can rest assured that-if our neighbor sneezes-next to that airsick bag and airplane weekly magazine, we can find a “swine flu” mask, some kleenex and maybe some anti-bacterial hand cleaner.
D’ya think?
What: Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 en route from Seattle Sea-Tac to Seoul, South Korea
Where: Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
When: on Wednesday,
Who: 179 passengers
Why: There were reports that flames shot out of one of the jet’s engines and television video of smoke as the plane circled before landing.
What: Westjet Airlines Boeing 737-600 en route from Calgary to Saskatoon (Canada)
Where: Calgary’s runway 34
When: Apr 23rd 2009
Why: The plane was in position on Calgary’s runway 34 when Canadair CRJ-700 flight QK-8339 from Winnipeg,MB to Calgary was cleared to cross runway 34. The error was recognized; takeoff clearance was revoked, the Jazz CRJ cleared the runway; and then the Canadair flight was cleared again for takeoff.
George’s Point of View
My favorite event is a non-event. The accident that didn’t happen.
So first he (the Boeing) is on runway 34 ready to go, then Air Traffic Control realizes they’re making a mistake because the Jazz about to cross the same runway, so Air Traffic Control stops him, and the other plane (the Jazz) goes ahead and crosses the runway, and they clear him (the Boeing); this time when he is cleared to go again the way is actually clear, and the Westjet Boeing manages to take off without any more issues.
Except possibly a bottle of Tums for the pilot and crew; and glasses and a caffeine adjustment for Air Traffic Control.
I can’t help but picture the scene in that 1981 movie Modern Problems (that no one but me saw) where two air traffic controllers go over the edge; one believing he’s moving a model plane around with his mind, and the other actually doing it.
.
What: Air Canada Boeing 777-200 LR en route from Australia to Vancouver
Where: emergency landing in Honolulu
When: Friday 7:10 a.m.
Who: 256 passengers and 17 crew members
Why: When the flight encountered turbulence SW of Honolulu, twenty-two people suffered minor injuries following severe air turbulence. Two passengers were treated at the hospital and released; two crew members were hospitalized; the rest were treated on site. The flight left later, scheduled to arrive in Vancouver at 2:44 p.m.
The turbulence was related to a thunderstorm.
George’s Point of View
It’s not brain surgery. When the seatbelt sign says “Fasten,” please “Fasten.”
What: Republic Airlines Embraer ERJ-170 on behalf of US Airways en route from Montreal to Philadelphia, PA
Where: on approach to Philadelphia,
When: Apr 22nd 2009
Why: On approach, the airplane was struck by a lightning. The crew did not declare emergency and landed safely with no damage sustained.
What: US Airways Boeing 757-200 en route from Saint Maarten (Netherlands Antilles) to Philadelphia,PA
Where: on approach to Philadelphia
When: Apr 22nd 2009
Who: 96 passengers and 7 crew
Why: Although on approach, the plane was struck by lightning at 6000 feet, it landed safely 14 minutes later. Skin damage was reported. This was reportedly lightning strike number two.
What: AirTran Airways Boeing 717-200 en route from Orlando,FL to Philadelphia,PA
Where: on approach to Philadelphia
When: Apr 22nd 2009
Why: The crew declared emergency an emergency when their nose cone incurred a direct lightning strike. Fortunately the airplane landed safely on runway 27R. ( Runway 27L was still in the process of accommodating the prior lightning strike.) Strike number three.
George’s Point of View
This may be hindsight, but it seems to me like three different planes hit with lightning at the same city reportedly within a time span of minutes–maybe air traffic control should have checked weather.com or looked out the window or something…
Contact photographer Alex G.-Denicourt
What: Continental Airlines Boeing 737-700 en route from Houston,TX to McAllen,TX
Where: McAllen, TX
When: Apr 18th 2009
Who: 104 passengers and 5 crew
Why: First, severe thunderstorms delayed takeoff. Then, en route, fasten seat belt signs were on. The plane experienced turbulence while a woman was in the bathroom; she hit the ceiling and sustained serious back injuries. A flight attendant and another passenger also were injured. On landing, the seriously injured women was ported to the hospital and underwent (2?) neck surgery/ies. It is not known if the severely injured passenger will be permanently paraplegic.
George’s Point of View
Do not think the seatbelt sign does not apply to you. You’re not someone exempt from turbulence. The seatbelt sign applies to everyone.
What: Canadian CanJet Airlines Flight 918 Boeing 737
Where: Montego Bay’s Sangster International Airport.
When: Hostage crisis began at about 10:20 p.m. local time Sunday and ended near 6:40 a.m
Who: Initially 159 (out of 174 expected) passengers and eight crew ; six crew members hostage for eight hours by gunman Stephen Fray
Why: A “mentallly challenged” 20-year-old Jamaican gunman having relationship problems boarded the plane during a layover and demanded to be flown to Cuba. A passenger said “… took our money and we just, like, left our purses and our passports and everything just in the plane because we didn’t want to take any chances. We just put the money in a bag and we ran out of the plane.”. The flight was stormed by the Jamaica Defence Force Counter Terrorism Operations Group
George’s Point of View
Fortunately the situation was resolved with no injuries, but it is obvious the poor kid had issues. Who in their right mind would leave Jamaica for Cuba?
Contact photographer Thomas Piskol
What: American Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Orlando,FL to Miami,FL
Where: ?WEST PALM BEACH
When: 04/20/2009 0:125
Why: “ON APPROACH REPORTED A LASER BEAM STRIKE” The plane was landed safely in spite of the pilot sustaining an eye injury from a laser pointed at the cockpit.
Based on Flightaware information, the Aviation Herald reports the landing did not occur at West Palm Beach.
Also, the flight number was erroneously listed on the FAA site as the registration #.
Contact photographer Agustin Anaya
What: Royal Air Maroc Boeing 767-30 en route from Casablanca (Morocco) to New York John F. Kennedy Airport
Where: JFK
When: Apr 20th 2009
Why: Wake turbulence was such that the landing was hard. Complaints about the hard landing prompted plane inspection which turned up wrinkles found in the fuselage. The plane was grounded for repairs and further inspection.
What: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 en route from Dallas Love,TX to Lubbock,TX
Where: Amarillo,TX
When: Apr 16th 2009 8:35 pm
Who: 123 passengers
Why: Approaching Lubbock in a storm, the Boeing was struck by lightning and successfully diverted to Amarillo. Later, a Boeing 737-700 took the passengers from Amarillo to Lubbock.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Dan Hornseth
What: Northwest Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Guam to Tokyo Narita Japan
Where: Saipan
When: Wednesday April 15 between 4 and 5
Who: 170 + passengers
Why: When a “minor” crack was discovered on the plane’s windshield. A delay of between 16 and 17 hours is anticipated.
George’s Point of View
Irony of the day: The plane’s emergency arrival just missed Disaster Drill day at Saipan International Airport.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Michael Fast
What: Air Canada 767 en route from Toronto to Buenos Aires and/or Sao Paulo Brazil.
Where: Toronto’s Pearson International Airport
When: Wednesday April 15 2009
Who: 129 on board
Why: When the pilot detected problems with the automatic pilot system, they followed standard operating procedure and returned to the airport for a safe landing. Passengers debarked on to the runway and were transported to the terminal where they were scheduled to take an alternative flight.
Pictured: an Alitalia Boeing-767-3S1
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Josh May
What: Alitalia Boeing 767, travelling from Milan in Italy to New York’s JFK
Where: Shannon Airport
When: Wednesday April 15 2009 5 PM
Who: 168 passengers and eleven crew
Why: When the pilot became ill, the flight landed at Shannon Airport. The pilot was hospitalized in Limerick and the passengers were treated to an overnight hotel stay and will continue to JFK on Thursday. Rumor on the pilot network is that the pilot had a heart attack.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Michael Carter
What: Alaska Airline Boeing 737 Phoenix to Seattle
Where: Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
When: emergency landing around 6:40 a.m
Who: 113 passengers
Why: After an emergency with an overheating hydraulic pump, the flight landed back at the Phoenix airport after 15 minutes; and (after 45 minutes of maintenance) was back in the air 1.5 hours behind schedule, but successfully en route to Seattle
George’s Point of View
Maintenance Maintenance Maintenance…
What: Jetlite Boeing 737 en route from Delhi to Kolkata
Where: IGI airport
Who: 41 passengers and crew members
Why: The pilot declared an undisclosed emergency and landed at IGI.
Jetlite was formerly known as Air Sahara.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Oleg Revin
What: Yakutia Airlines Boeing 757 en route from Vnukovo airport to Yakutsk.
Where: Vnukovo airport in the Russian capital of Moscow
When: Apr 7th 2009
Who: 174 passengers and nine crew members
Why: After takeoff, the pilot experienced technical problems. The cabin depressurized; and the pilot decided to return to the airport of origin to land; however, before landing, the plane circled the airport for three and a half hours to burn off excess fuel.
