Cathay Pacific flight CX-250 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Novosibirsk, Russia, on November 23rd.
The plane heading from London, United Kingdom, to Hong Kong, China, was diverted due to a smoke indication for the aft cargo hold.
The plane landed safely. There were 214 passengers and 18 crew members aboard at the time; all of them remained safe.
Aeroflot Airlines flight SU-1255 had to return and make an emergency landing in Naberezhnye Chelny, Russia, on November 21st.
The plane took off for Moscow, Russia, but had turn back after the nose gear failed to fully retract.
The plane landed back uneventfully. There were 64 passengers and 5 crew members aboard at the time; all of them remained safe.
Rossiya Airlines flight SU-6617 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Rostov, Russia, on November 3rd.
The Airbus A320-200 plane heading from Saint Petersburg, Russia, to Larnaca, Cyprus, was diverted after the crew reported the failure of domestic equipment.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
A Progress TsSKB Aviakompania plane made an emergency landing in Kazan, Russia, on October 31st.
The plane was flying from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, when the crew reported issues with one of the engines.
The plane continued for a safe landing. All 20 passengers and 9 crew members remained safe.
UTAir flight UT-572 made an emergency landing in Moscow, Russia, on October 30th.
The Boeing 737-800 flying from Krasnojarsk, Russia, was on approach to Moscow when the crew received an asymmetric flaps indication and declared an emergency.
The plane landed uneventfully. Everyone aboard remained safe.
A MI-8 helicopter crashed in Novy Urengoy, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia, on the night of October 21st.
The helicopter was carrying 22 people from Siberian region of Krasnoyarsk to Urengoy, at the time.
At least 19 people were killed in the crash whereas 3 suffered serious injuries.
The injured were taken to hospital.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
NordStar Airlines flight Y7-7750 made an emergency landing in Domodedovo, Moscow, Russia, on October 9th.
The plane flying from Heraklion, Greece, was on approach to Domodedovo when the crew reported an unsafe gear indication.
The crew went around and managed to lower and lock the gear before safely landing in Domodedovo.
Everyone aboard remained safe.
UTAir flight UT-364 made an emergency landing in Moscow, Russia, on October 4th.
The plane flying from Ufa, Russia, was on final approach when the crew reported an unsafe gear indication.
The plane landed safely. Everyone aboard remained unhurt.
NordStar Airlines flight Y7-247 had to return and make an emergency landing in Krasnojarsk, Russia, on September 9th.
The Boeing 737-800 plane was heading to Norilsk, Russia, when the crew reported a cracked windshield and decided to turn back.
The plane landed safely. There were 168 passengers and 6 crew members aboard at the time; all of them remained safe.
NordStar Airlines flight TYA-62 had to return and make an emergency landing in Kyzyl, Russia, on September 8th.
The plane heading to Krasnojarsk, Russia, had to turn back due to an indication that a cargo door was open.
The plane landed safely. There were 29 passengers and 3 crew members aboard at the time; all of them remained safe.
Yakutia Airlines flight R3-492 had to return and make an emergency landing in Vladivostok, Russia, on September 4th.
The plane took off for Yakutsk, Russia, but had to return shortly afterwards due to an indication of a slat issue.
The plane landed uneventfully. There were 65 passengers and 6 crew members aboard at the time; all of them remained safe.
Yamal Airlines flight YC-943 had to return and make an emergency landing at Domodedovo International Airport, Moscow Oblast, Russia, on September 1st.
The Canadair CRJ-200 flying to Beloyarsky, Russia, had to return due to some issue with one of its computers.
The plane landed safely after burning fuel.
All 48 passengers aboard remained unhurt.
Angara Airlines flight IK-755 had to return and make an emergency landing at International Airport Irkutsk, Russia, on September 1st.
The Antonov AN-14 en-route to Novosibirsk, Russia, had to return after the crew received the signal of its forward cargo hold’s open door.
The plane landed safely.
All the 60 passengers and 4 crew members remained safe.
VIM Airlines flight NN-264 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Bratsk, Russia, on August 29th.
The Boeing 757-200 plane heading from Vladivostok to Moscow, Russia, was diverted after left hand engine’s generator stopped working.
The plane landed safely. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
Austrian Airlines flight OS-64 had to divert and make an emergency landing at Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia, on August 22nd.
The Boeing 767-300 plane heading from Beijing, China, to Vienna, Austria, was diverted after the crew received a waste tank indication that suggested the lavatories were unusable.
The plane landed uneventfully. Everyone aboard remained safe.
KrasAvia flight KI-67 made an emergency landing in Krasnojarsk, Russia, on August 18th.
The plane took off for Kodinsk, Russia, but had to return shortly afterwards due to engine failure.
The plane landed safely. All 15 people aboard remained unharmed.
Rusline flight 7R-424 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Voronezh, Russia, on August 14th.
The plane heading from Lipetsk to Sochi, Russia, was diverted after the crew reported a cracked windshield.
The plane landed uneventfully. All passengers and crew members remained safe.
Ellinair flight EL-920 made an emergency landing in Novosibirsk, Russia, on August 9th.
The plane was flying from Thessaloniki, Greece, when the captain became unwell and later on fell unconscious. The first officer took control and landed safely.
The captain was shifted to hospital where the doctors diagnosed a brain haemorrhage.
UTAir flight UT-559 had to make an emergency landing in Moscow, Russia, on August 6th.
The plane took off for Makhachkala, Russia, but had to turn back after the crew needed to shut down one of the engines.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unhurt.
Uzbekistan Airways flight HY-636 had to return and make an emergency landing in St. Petersburg, Russia, on August 7th.
The Boeing 757-200 plane took off for Fergana, Uzbekistan, but had to return shortly afterwards after the crew reported an engine failure.
The plane landed uneventfully after burning off excess fuel. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
Rusline flight 7R-424 had to return and make an emergency landing at Lipetsk Airport, Russia, on July 28th.
The Canadair CRJ-200 en-route to Sochi, Russia, had to return due to engine failure. The crew had to shut its engine down mid-air.
The plane landed safely.
No one was injured.
Rossiya Airlines flight FV-6483 made an emergency landing at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia, on July 18th.
The Boeing 777-300 plane took off for Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia, but had to turn back due to an issue with landing gear.
The plane landed safely. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
The airline arranged a replacement plane for the passengers.
KrasAvia flight KI-48 had to abort taking-off at Shushenskoye Airport, Kazantsevo, UNAU, Russia, on July 18th.
The Let L-410 was ready to depart for Krasnojarsk, Russia when the crew aborted the takeoff after the aircraft started steering left instead of straight ahead.
The flight was cancelled.
All 13 passengers were accommodated in a bus to Krasnojarsk.
Red Wings Airlines flight WZ-9830 had to return and make an emergency landing at Roshchino International Airport, Tyumen Oblast, Russia, on July 18th.
The Tupolev TU-204 was en-route to Sochi, Russia when the crew had to shut one of its engines down mid-air.
The plane landed safely.
All 213 passengers and 8 crew members remained unhurt.
Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 (Flight MH17) was a passenger flight that flew over a war torn region and was shot down by a Buk surface-to-air missile system in the East Ukraine. The plane was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, and its destruction killed the 298 people aboard. What remained of that plane rained down on Hrabove village in the Donetsk region.
The flight had two copilots: Ahmad Hakimi Hanapi and Muhd Firdaus Abdul Rahim, and two captains: Wan Amran Wan Hussin from Kuala Kangsar and Eugene Choo Jin Leong from Seremban.
The Russian government blamed the Ukrainian government because the incident happened in Ukrainian airspace. The Ukraine says Russian 53rd Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade shot down MH17. Russians and Russian separatists continue finger pointing at each other for the responsibility for the crash. The Dutch, who control the investigation, involved 24 experts from Russia, Ukraine, Malaysia, Australia, Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom.
The Dutch Safety Board’s subsequent report that came out in July 2015 left many questions; it concluded that the crash was caused by a Buk surface-to-air 9M38-series missile with 9N314M warhead; that the missile struck the left of the cockpit killing the flight crew; impact tore off the cockpit, suffocating the passengers. The board also concluded that the 61 planes which flew in the air zone should have been warned it was not a good route. The UN security tried to establish an international tribunal to investigate, but the attempt was vetoed by Russia. Did Russia deploy this BUK into Ukrainian territory controlled by the outlaw rebels? Did the separatists deploy the BUK mistakenly (or not) into this commercial vessel flying over a war zone?
On 9 April 2015,the Dutch released 569 documents (with personal information redacted) concerning the incident. The Public Prosecution Service of Dutch Ministry of Justice is leading the (ongoing) criminal investigation.
What can the rest of the world do but feel empathy for the families of those who were aboard? Two hundred and eighty-three people, eighty of whom who were under eighteen years old. These people, these fathers, mothers, wives, husbands, sons, daughters, sibling, boarded the plane, crew and passenger alike, with no thought but to reach their destination. They never did. Their remains came home in boxes, and some not at all. Now, two years later, the families are still without answers, without resolution.
Tragedy and loss are unspeakable. No humane being can assign a degree to the depth of the loss. Condolences can be offered, and all measures can be taken, but all the money, concern, sympathy and well wishes can ever make a dent in the damage done.
